Electronics giant Philips said on Monday it posted a loss of €1.5bn in the fourth quarter of 2008, pushing its full-year earnings into the red. It also announced plans to cut its global workforce by some 6,000 to cut costs.

In total, Philips made a loss of €186m over 2008, compared with net profit of over €4bn in 2007.
Full-year sales were down 3% at €26.4bn. Healthcare sales were up 6% and turnover in the lighting division rose 3%. But this was not enough to offset an 8% drop in sales in the Consumer Lifestyle division, Philips said.
The 6,000 job losses announced by the company will hit all divisions. The aim is to generate annual savings of some €400m by mid 2009, said Philips.
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