Nokia to cut thousands of jobs around the globe following Alcatel deal

Nokia is planning to shed thousands of staff around the world as part of a cost-cutting programme following its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent earlier this year. The struggling telecoms giant declined to give a total figure but was said to be losing 1,400 in Germany and 1,300 in its native Finland. In France, Nokia said it would cut only 400 jobs but would create 500 posts in research and development, in line with a promise to the French government last year when it was negotiating the Alcatel deal. “The pledges made by Nokia when it bought Alcatel-Lucent have been kept,” said French union rep Frédéric Aussedat.

This (1,300) is a terrible figure, we have rather difficult employment situation in the sector to begin with. Seems that Finnish workers have lost this match (against the French).

Pertti Porokari, chairman of the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland

Nokia took control of the French company in January following its 15.6 billion euro ($17.7 billion) all-share offer, intended to help it compete with Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei in a market where limited growth and tough competition are pressuring prices. Nokia is seeking 900 million euros of cost savings through the deal by 2018. It employs about 104,000 people around the world. “Reductions will come largely in areas where there are overlaps, such as research and development, regional and sales organizations as well as corporate functions,” Nokia said in a statement.

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