Nokia announces cut of 10,000 jobs

By Althea Benloss | Jun 14, 2012 09:45 AM EDT

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Nokia has announced new job cuts, which would result in the removal of 10,000 jobs and the closure of three facilities.

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation whose principal products are electronic devices, primarily mobile phones and other communications devices.  The company stated on Thursday that it would cut 19 percent of its work force, by the end of 2013 as part of an emergency revamp that includes closing research centers and a factory in Germany, Canada and Finland, and the departures of three senior executives.

"They have been announcing job cuts almost every quarter," Mr. Jeronimo,  an analyst with International Data in London, said. In the year through March, Nokia had cut 11,169 jobs, or 17 percent of its work force. "They need to tell the market when they plan to return to profitability, or else they will become a takeover target themselves by the end of this year."

The company said that the job reductions and the shutdown of research and development centers in Ulm, Germany, and Burnaby, Canada, and a handset factory in Salo, Finland, would save €1.6 billion by the end of the year.

"These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength," said Stephen Elop, the Nokia chief executive and a former Microsoft executive said in The New York Times. "We do not make plans that may impact our employees lightly, and as a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities."

According to the New York Times, Nokia employed 53,553 workers in its handset business at the end of March. The company also had 68,595 employees in Nokia Siemens Networks, the company's 50-50 network equipment venture with Germany's Siemens.

"With these planned actions, we believe our devices and services business has a clear path to profitability," said Timo Ihamuotila, the Nokia chief financial officer, said. "Nokia intends to maintain its strong financial position while proceeding aggressively with actions aimed at creating shareholder value."

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