Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs by 2013, to close plants in Germany, Canada and Finland

Telecom Lead Europe: Mobile phone major Nokia is planning
to reduce up to 10,000 jobs globally by the end of 2013.

 

The company did not reveal county-specific job details.

 

Last year, Nokia had announced plans to cut around 3,000 jobs. Nokia Siemens Networks is also in the process of slashing 17,000 jobs worldwide.

 

Nokia will reduce its Devices & Services non-IFRS
operating expenses to an annualized run rate of approximately EUR 3.0 billion
by the end of 2013. This is an update to Nokia’s target to reduce Devices &
Services non-IFRS operating expenses by more than EUR 1.0 billion for the full
year 2013, compared to the full year 2010 Devices & Services non-IFRS
operating expenses of EUR 5.35 billion.

 

In addition to the already achieved annualized run rate
saving of approximately EUR 700 million at the end of first quarter 2012, the
company targets to implement approximately EUR 1.6 billion of additional cost
reductions by the end of 2013.

 

The job cut is part of sharpening its strategy,
improving its operating model and returning the company to profitable growth.

 

“We are increasing our focus on the products and
services that our consumers value most while continuing to invest in the
innovation that has always defined Nokia,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia
president and CEO.

 

“We intend to pursue an even more focused effort on
Lumia, continued innovation around our feature phones, while placing increased
emphasis on our location-based services. However, we must re-shape our
operating model and ensure that we create a structure that can support our competitive
ambitions,” Elop added.

 

As part of the restructuring, Nokia will shut down its
facilities in Ulm, Germany and Burnaby, Canada.

 

It will close manufacturing facility in Salo, Finland.
However, research and development efforts in Salo will continue.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Nokia reshuffles top management

As part of its restructuring announced on Thursday, Nokia also reshuffled top
management to retain its lost glory in the mobile phone business.

Nokia plans to invest in location-based platform

To increase business, Nokia is planning to invest in
location-based platform. Its investments in location-based platform are
expected to assist the ailing mobile phone major to differentiate its portfolio
of Lumia smartphones with location-based services including navigation and
visual search applications such as the recently announced Nokia City Lens. 

Nokia to sell 90% stake in luxury phone business Vertu to EQT VI

Nokia will sell its Vertu luxury-phone unit to Swedish
private-equity firm EQT Partners for around $250 million. 
The move to sell off Vertu is a part of Nokia’s divestment
strategy and turnaround plan. The company is shedding non-core businesses as it
struggles to turnaround its core smartphone operations.

Nokia to buy imaging assets from Scalado

Nokia will buy imaging assets from Scalado. Nokia did not disclose the size of the acquisition. The
acquisition is aimed at enhancing imaging experiences for Nokia Lumia devices.

The Sweden-based Scalado currently has imaging technology on
more than 1 billion devices. This acquisition is aimed at strengthening Nokia’s
imaging assets.

Nokia downgraded by Standard and Poor

Recently, Standard & Poor cut Nokia’s NIK1V.HE credit
rating to BBB- from BBB giving the Finnish mobile device manufacturer a further
shock.

 

Nokia Siemens to cut 17,000 jobs by 2013 from present 74,000

Last year, Nokia Siemens Networks said it would cut its global workforce by approximately 17,000 by the end of 2013. The total global workforce of Nokia Siemens Networks on 1 November 2011 was approximately 74,000.

Motorola acquisition pushed Nokia Siemens to cut 17,000 jobs in next 2 years

The $975 million cash deal to buy Motorola Solutions’ Networks assets is one of the reasons for Nokia Siemens Networks to axe 17,000 jobs in the next two years.

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