Nokia warns of up to 10,000 job losses

Nokia will cut up to 10,000 jobs as the Finnish telecoms equipment maker tries to regain its competitiveness after losing out in the early rounds of 5G networks to Huawei and Ericsson.

The Finnish group on Tuesday said it would have 80,000-85,000 employees in 18-24 months, down from 90,000 today, as part of a “reset” of its cost position that would allow it to boost R&D investments.

Nokia maintained its financial guidance for this year but warned the job losses would cost it €600m-700m in restructuring charges up to 2023, with half of that coming in 2021.

Pekka Lundmark, Nokia’s new chief executive, has stressed that the company will do “whatever it takes” to win at 5G.

On Tuesday, he said: “In those areas where we choose to compete, we will play to win. We are therefore enhancing product quality and cost competitiveness, and investing in the right skills and capabilities.”

Nokia was caught flat-footed by the rollout of 5G networks as it was still digesting its €15.6bn takeover of Alcatel-Lucent. In recent years it has struggled financially compared with Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei.

Nokia is preparing to update investors on its new strategy under Lundmark at a capital markets day on Thursday.