Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia said today it intends cutting over 10 per cent of staff at its struggling Networks unit as the firm struggles tomatch costs with flagging demand.
Nokia said in a statement the majority of the 1,800 job cuts would come in Finland, and would be made in research and development, operations, sales and marketing, and other areas.
"Nokia Networks...is taking strong measures to reduce costs (and) improve profitability," Nokia said in a statement.
It is not yet clear where the remainder of the job cuts will come from although a Nokia spokesman told ireland.com"there was very little if any impact in terms of personnel in Ireland".
The company, like rivals including Sweden's Ericsson, has struggled over the past two years with falling demand for wireless equipment as cash-strapped telecom operators rein in spending on upgrading networks after years of runaway growth.
The cuts come some two months after Nokia said it would sack 550 people at Networks, which generates a much smaller proportion of revenues and earnings than the company's main mobile phones unit.
Nokia at end-2002 had a total staff of over 17,360 people at Networks. Total group staff was more than 51,740.
The statement also comes only one week before Nokia reports first-quarter results, with the company forecasting a substantial pro-forma loss at Networks.
Nokia shares traded 3.3 per cent lower at €13.78 in early trade, underperforming the index of its European tech peers.