While recent reports have suggested Sony is preparing to ditch its ailing smartphone division, it seems it won’t give it up without a fight. In a last ditch effort to turn it around, the Japanese company is set to shed another 1,000 workers by March 2016.

It’s been sad to see Sony’s smartphone business take a battering, because it actually produces some excellent products. Admittedly, they are refreshed too often, but flagships devices like the Xperia Z series are as good — if not better — than giants like the Samsung Galaxy S.

Despite that, poor sales have meant that Sony is close to having to drop the division altogether for the sake of the company, Reuters reported earlier this month. But before it goes down that route, it’s said to be implementing another cost-cutting mission that will see 1,000 workers laid off.

Japan’s Nikkei business daily says that the cuts will take place mostly in Europe and China, and because Sony has until March 2016 to make the cuts, it’s hoping that some of the shedding will happen naturally through attrition rather than layoffs.

With the staff cuts Sony has already made in recent years, its smartphone division’s workforce will be around 30% smaller by March 2016.

Sony has struggled not only with strong competition from rivals like Apple and Samsung, but also from the increasing success of low-cost Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, which are offering better devices with cheaper price tags.

The company already sold off its underperforming Vaio family of PCs, so there’s no question that Kazuo Hirai is prepared to take big steps to ensure the overall success of Sony.

• ViaReuters