MOSCOW: Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia is planning to address the uncertain market environment and decreasing sales by cutting personnel expenses and reducing its staff by 10 per cent -15 per cent from the current 86,000 employees by late 2026, the company said on Thursday.
“Nokia targets to lower its cost base on a gross basis (i.e. before inflation) by between EUR 800 million [US$843 million] and EUR 1 200 million by the end of 2026 compared to 2023, assuming on-target variable pay in both periods. This represents a 10–15 per cent reduction in personnel expenses … The programme is expected to lead to a 72 000 – 77 000 employee organisation compared to the 86 000 employees Nokia has today,“ the company said in a statement.
The layoffs follow Nokia’s third-quarter report that showed a 20 per cent sales decline year-on-year to 4.98 billion euros, while profit fell by 69 per cent year-on-year to 133 million euros, reported Sputnik.
The exact scale of the programme will depend on the “evolution of end market demand,“ the statement added.
“The most difficult business decisions to make are the ones that impact our people. We have immensely talented employees at Nokia and we will support everyone that is affected by this process. Resetting the cost base is a necessary step to adjust to market uncertainty and to secure our long-term profitability and competitiveness. We remain confident about opportunities ahead of us,“ Nokia President and CEO Pekka Lundmark was quoted as saying in the statement.
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish transnational company manufacturing telecommunications equipment for mobile, fixed, broadband, and IP networks that was founded in 1865 and operates in more than 130 countries.-Bernama
