Nokia to axe up to 14,000 jobs in cost-cutting plan

Telecoms giant Nokia has said it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs by the end of 2026 in a bid to sharply reduce costs.

The Finnish technology firm said the move is part of efforts to save up to 1.2 billion euros (£1.04 billion) over the three-year period.

It will reduce its workforce from the current 86,000 to between 72,000 and 77,000.

Nokia, which has UK offices in Bristol, Cambridge and Reading, has not disclosed where the staff cuts will be made.

The announcement came as the business also reported that sales slumped by a fifth over the quarter to September.

The company had hoped the recent introduction of 5G networks would boost trading but on Thursday it blamed a slowdown in demand for the technology in some markets, such as North America.

It comes after Swedish rival Ericsson, which has also launched a recent restructuring move, revealed its own sales slump last week.

Nokia predominantly operates in telecoms infrastructure after stepping away from the mobile phone market in 2014 after selling this division to Microsoft.

However, Microsoft sold this business to HMD Global in 2016, who then struck a licence deal with Nokia to make handsets using the company’s brand.

Nokia president and chief executive Pekka Lundmark said: “The most difficult business decisions to make are the ones that impact our people.

“We have immensely talented employees at Nokia and we will support everyone that is affected by this process.

“Resetting the cost base is a necessary step to adjust to market uncertainty and to secure our long-term profitability and competitiveness.

“We remain confident about opportunities ahead of us.”