Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) is cutting 450 employees from its North American operations in Durham, North Carolina. Triangle Business Journal reports that SE had 750 staff at its Research Triangle Park location, which is one of the handset manufacturers key R&D units. The layoffs are part of the struggling handset JV’s retrenchment plan it announced in July, when it said it would trim 2,000 workers globally to make a $300 million in cost savings in an attempt to turn the company around. In Q2, the company announced it had made a 2 million euro operating loss, with profits plunging 97 percent.

SE also released a press release, confirming “that it is beginning to implement a plan to align its operations and resources worldwide to meet an increasingly competitive business environment and to help restore its capability for profitable growth.” The company also said that more “internal announcements” were made today over which sites and functions would have their staff reduced. No word from SE, however, on specific locations or jobs—more, obviously, to come.

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