Nokia faces tough times again and announces over 2,000 job cuts – India TV

Nokia recently cut nearly 2,000 jobs in Greater China, representing about 20% of its workforce in that country. The company also plans to lay off another 350 employees in Europe as part of its efforts to save money. A Nokia representative confirmed the layoffs in Europe, but did not provide details about the situation in China.

As of December 2023, Nokia employs around 10,400 people in Greater China and 37,400 in Europe. Last year, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by up to 14,000 jobs, with the aim of saving between €800 million and €1.2 billion by 2026. These recent job cuts are part of that larger goal.

What is happening?

Nokia used to be very successful in China, which was its second largest market. However, after several Western countries banned Huawei starting in 2019, Nokia and another major company, Ericsson, received fewer contracts from Chinese telecom operators.

In 2019, around 27% of Nokia’s sales came from Greater China. Today, that number has dropped to less than 6%. Despite these challenges, Nokia still operates several offices in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where it continues to support customers such as China Mobile.

Recently, Nokia reported a 9% increase in its operating profits in the third quarter, mainly due to its cost-cutting measures. However, its global sales did not meet expectations, causing the company’s shares to fall 4%. So far, Nokia has achieved 500 million euros in cost savings.

CEO Pekka Lundmark mentioned that the company is focused on cutting costs without compromising its research and development efforts, and expressed satisfaction with the progress they have made. When Nokia first announced job cuts last year, it had around 86,000 employees and aimed to reduce this number to between 72,000 and 77,000 by 2026. Currently, its workforce is just over 78,500 employees.

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