Sony on Thursday said it would freeze non-managerial employees' salaries this year as the company tries to recover from a record loss in the face of a global sales slump.

According to Reuters, Sony doesn't give automatic raises every year based on seniority -- unlike many other Japanese companies -- but instead awards them based on responsibility and performance.

For the current financial year ending March 31, the company is predicting an operating loss of $2.9 billion. This is the electronic giant's first annual loss in 14 years. Sony has already closed several factories, laid off 16,000 workers and cut managerial salaries.

Sony is just one of many Japanese electronics companies that have been hit hard by the global economic downturn. Three other Japanese tech companies -- Toshiba Corp, NEC Corp and Hitachi Ltd -- may soon make similar moves.