TOKYO — Sony expects its annual loss to swell to $2 billion and has canceled dividends for the first time in more than half a century after writing down the value of its troubled smartphone business.

Citing intense competition, especially from Chinese rivals, Sony said today it anticipates a net loss of $2.15 billion for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2015. Its previous forecast was for a $466 million net loss.

For the first time since going public in 1958, the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate canceled dividend payments for the half- and full-year.

The company plans to cut staff in its mobile communications business by about 15 percent, or roughly 1,000 people. Details of that plan are to be announced later.

Sony has been trying to reshape its business after years of red ink and has repeatedly promised turnarounds without delivering.

It said the bigger loss for the current fiscal year stems from a lower valuation of its mobile phone business due to weaker than expected sales. The company is recording an “impairment charge” of $1.7 billion in the July-September quarter.

DALLAS — UPS plans to hire up to 95,000 workers to help deliver packages during the busy holiday season — an increase from last year, when the company was caught unprepared for a boom in online shopping.The Atlanta-based company said Tuesday that the positions will include package sorters, loaders, delivery helpers and drivers.Last year, UPS underestimated the surge in deliveries during the holiday shipping season, which peaked several days later than the company had expected as shoppers jumped at offers of free shipping right up until a few days before Christmas. With faulty forecasts, the company didn't hire enough seasonal help.