At the same time, Kazuo Hirai plans to continue implementing the cost-cutting plan of the former president Howard Stringer in order to save costs. Kazuo Hirai will take over Howard's position on April 1st. Last week, Sony forecasted that the annual loss may reach as high as $2.9 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of losses. Under immense pressure from investors and rating agencies, Kazuo Hirai pledged to cut costs and achieve profitability in the television business within two years. He stated, "We have made tough decisions to implement cost-cutting measures in multiple regions with redundancies." It is reported that Kazuo Hirai will reduce expenditures in sales areas such as Japan, Europe, and the United States, and decrease supply chain and operational costs at the headquarters in Tokyo. On Wednesday, the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Sony's long-term debt rating and warned that if Kazuo Hirai fails to halt the losses, they may further downgrade Sony's rating within a year.