Finnish telecoms giant Nokia is to axe between 9,000 and 14,000 jobs by the end of 2026 to cut costs. The announcement was made as the company reported a 20 percent drop in sales between July and September. The company blamed slowing demand for 5G equipment in markets such as North America. It currently has 86,000 employees around the world, and has axed thousands of jobs since 2015. Nokia wants to cut costs by between €800 million and €1.2 billion (£695 million-£1 billion) by 2026, it said. Its customers have been cutting spending amid high inflation and interest rates, it said.
Advances in cloud computing and AI will need “significant investments in networks that have vastly improved capabilities”, said Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark. “However, given the uncertain timing of the market recovery, we are now taking decisive action,” he said. It said it wanted to “act quickly” by cutting costs by €400 million in 2024, and €300 million in 2025.
Mr Lundmark added that despite “ongoing uncertainty”, Nokia expected to “an improvement in our network businesses” in the current quarter. The company declined to say where the job cuts would fall, or whether UK employees would be affected. It said the cuts had been a “difficult business decision” but were “a necessary step to adjust to market uncertainty and protect our long-term profitability and competitiveness”.
“We have immensely talented people at Nokia and we will support everyone that is affected by the process,” a spokesperson said. “We are now beginning the process of consultation on initial reductions.” The timing and detail of final jobs cuts “will be decided only after careful consideration, and will depend on the evolution of end market demand,” the spokesperson added. https://shorturl.at/nvDJY
Source: IBP