Nokia to cut up to 14,000 jobs

Nokia will cut up to 14,000 jobs to reduce costs, it said on Thursday, warning it did not expect a market recovery soon after posting a 20% drop in third-quarter sales on weaker demand for 5G equipment.

Shares in the Finnish company, which produces equipment for telecom networks, were down 2% at 0900 GMT.

A slowdown in the United States, home to Verizon and AT&T, and one of the more profitable markets for Nokia and Ericsson had forced them to look for growth in other regions such as India. But now India is also expected to normalize after a stellar 2022.

The market situation is really challenging and it is witnessed by the fact that in our most important market, which is the North American market, our net sales are down 40% in Q3," Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark told Reuters in an interview.

Nokia is targeting savings of between 800 million euros and 1.2 billion euros by 2026.

It expects to reduce its employee base to between 72,000 and 77,000 employees, from 86,000, or about 16% job cuts at the high end.

Lundmark declined to give more details saying the company must consult first with employee representatives. However, he said he wanted to protect research and development.

Nokia expects at least 400 million euros of savings in 2024, and a further 300 million euros in 2025.

Ericsson, which has also laid off thousands of employees this year, said on Tuesday the uncertainty affecting its business would persist into 2024.