Up to 14,000 jobs lost. This was announced on Thursday October 19 by the Finnish telecommunications equipment group Nokia, as part of a new cost reduction plan. The group highlighted a 69% drop in third-quarter profits to 133 million euros ($140 million) compared to the previous year. After the results were released, Nokia’s share price fell 2% to 3.26 euros.
The telecoms equipment manufacturer, engaged in a battle for 5G networks with its Swedish rival Ericsson and the Chinese Huawei, announced that it had seen its sales fall by 20% to 4.982 billion euros in the third quarter compared to 2022. “We have noted some slowdown in the pace of 5G deployment in India, meaning growth there was no longer sufficient to offset the slowdown in North America,” said Pekka Lundmark, Nokia’s chief executive. He also expressed his sadness about the massive job cuts, emphasizing that “the most difficult decisions to make are those that impact our staff.”
The group’s savings program is expected to deliver cost reductions of up to €1.2 billion by 2026, notably targeting mobile networks, as well as cloud and network services. According to the CEO, “third quarter net sales were affected by the current uncertainty” but he nevertheless expects “a more normal seasonal improvement in our network activities in the fourth quarter”.