More than 300 R&D staff have been made redundant by Nokia as the company moves to developing fewer, but more popular, handsets. The company said 230 engineers at its Oulu, Finland, offices are to go, together with 100 based in Copenhagen, Denmark. This cull of R&D resource is part of Nokia's effort to trim costs at its handset division by more than €700 million.
Following Nokia's example, Sony Ericsson has announced it plans to close four of its smartphone centres, including the company's R&D centres in Sweden and India.
More than 130 R&D staff based at Kista, Sweden, will be cut, and around 100 consultants tied to the development centre are also in danger of losing their jobs. The Indian office will lose around 60 engineers as the company shifts from a focus on entry-level handsets toward smartphones.
Sony Ericsson said that it would also move its North American headquarters from North Carolina to Atlanta, and close down small operations in Miami, Seattle and San Diego.
For more on this story:
Reuters and The Local
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