Nokia To Cut 4,000 Jobs Worldwide, Transfers 3,000 Symbian Jobs To Accenture #fb
It was inevitable. Nokia this morning announced plans to ‘align its global workforce and consolidate site operations’. That means significant layoffs and reorganizations across the board, of course, so here are the details:
First off, Nokia will be cutting its workforce by roughly 4,000 employees by the end of 2012.
The giant phone manufacturer has partnered with Accenture to transfer all its Symbian software activites, including about 3,000 employees, to the latter company.
The majority of job cuts will be in the company’s home country Finland, as well as Denmark and the UK. Discussions with employee representatives started today, Nokia says.
In addition, Nokia aims to reduce its Devices & Services operating expenses by 1 billion euros for the full year 2013 in comparison to the full year 2010, as previously announced.
All employees affected by the reduction plans can opt to remain on the Nokia payroll through the end of 2011. The company says it expects cuts to occur in phases until the end of next year, linked to the roll-out of its planned product and services portfolio.
Nokia says it intends to ramp up its capacity for the development of Nokia smartphones based on the Windows Phone platform – the deal with Microsoft was signed last week on Thursday.
Nokia adds that it plans to “consolidate the company’s research and product development sites so that each site has a clear role and mission”. This will result in the contraction or closure of some sites, although the company leaves the door open for expansion of other sites.
Said Stephen Elop, Nokia president and CEO:
“At Nokia, we have new clarity around our path forward, which is focused on our leadership across smart devices, mobile phones and future disruptions.
However, with this new focus, we also will face reductions in our workforce. This is a difficult reality, and we are working closely with our employees and partners to identify long-term re-employment programs for the talented people of Nokia.”
Nokia last week reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2011: profit declined 1.4 percent year-over-year.
Also read:
Nokia heading to Silicon Valley? And the ‘Standing on a burning platform’ memo
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