Deathwatch - will the Sony Empire fall in 2009?

We, at Bitterwallet, hesitated in adding a global manufacturer like Sony to Bitterwallet's Deathwatch list; it's all very well predicting the End of Days for Woolies and PC World, but not one of the best recognised brands on the planet, surely? Until you look at some of the facts and figures haunting the Tokyo-based company right now:

Sony have today announced plans to make 5% of its electronics workforce redundant - about 8,000 jobs
From July to September, the Japanese economy shrank nearly five times faster than Government predictions
Sony's profits fell by 90% in the last financial quarter, while warning that full-year profits would be down nearly 60% on the previous year
The company's share prices has dropped from over $57 at the beginning of the year, to just $20 today