Nokia plans to cut about 180 jobs in Finland this year, and while the cuts will apply to all Nokia locations in Finland, the company said the biggest impact will be in Espoo.
The cuts, which won’t affect Nokia’s investments in 5G technology and digitalization, are part of a wider initiative to cut costs. The company is seeking cost savings of EUR 500 million by the end of 2020.
“On October 25, 2018 Nokia announced plans to accelerate strategy execution, sharpen customer focus, and maintain long-term cost leadership. As part of these plans, we continue with our costs savings program to achieve a sustainable cost structure, to strengthen our competitive position and to improve Nokia’s profitability,” the company said in a statement.
Nokia’s global restructuring and cost-saving program is also progressing in other countries.
“The plans we are announcing today are expected to lead to headcount reductions globally,” Nokia said. “The implementation of these plans will follow country specific timelines and processes. On January 14, 2020, we started the consultation process with our European Works Council. Nokia is committed to supporting the impacted employees through these difficult times.”
RELATED: Nokia made a bad call for 5G chips, scrambles to rectify situation
Nokia ended 2019 with the admission that it was having to pivot on its 5G chip strategy. The company acknowledged that its 5G profit margins were dampened by the high cost of its “ReefShark” chipset.
Last week, Nokia announced that it had reached 63 commercial 5G contracts worldwide. Its customers include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile US and Sprint.
Nokia’s President of Mobile Networks Tommi Uitto said at the time said it’s the only network supplier whose 5G technology has been contracted by all four nationwide operators in the U.S., all three operators in South Korea and all three nationwide operators in Japan.