Sony Corp., the once high-flying electronics giant, plans to lay off 10,000 employees worldwide, or 6 percent of its workforce, by the end of the year in a bid to regain global competitiveness, it was learned Monday.

The news comes at a time when the Tokyo-based maker is grappling with harsh global competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. and is expecting to log more red ink in the year that ended March 31.