Nokia cuts R&D jobs
At least 130 of the more than 600 cut jobs will come from R&D, as the Finland-based company said it aims to "sharpen its focus on fewer but stronger research areas."
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- EDN, November 4, 2008
As forecasts for lower mobile phone sales in Q4 and 2009 continue to be made, Nokia today announced plans to cut more than 600 jobs and close a site as part of an overall company reorganization.
Nokia is not alone in bearing the brunt of such forecasts, brought on by the current economic turmoil. Indeed, both Freescale and Motorola last week announced layoffs and bleak Q3 results for their respective cellular chip businesses. Nokia's layoffs also follow on the 2,300 job cuts the handset maker announced in January when it released plans to close its Bochum, Germany, site by mid-2008.
At least 130 of the more than 600 cut jobs announced today come from R&D, as the Finland-based company said it would "sharpen its focus on fewer but stronger research areas" though its Nokia Research Center (NRC), which is specialized in long-term research activities. Nokia estimated that move will impact approximately 130 NRC employees globally, of which a maximum of 100 are in Finland.
Nokia further said it plans to close its Turku site in Finland and relocate those activities predominantly to Salo, Finland. Nokia currently has 220 employees working in the Turku office and said its aim is to move those employees to its site at Salo or elsewhere in the capital area in Finland.
The bulk of the cuts will come from Nokia's sales and marketing activities as the company aims "to strengthen the customer interface, ensure that resources are well allocated to meet the business needs and de-layer the organization." Nokia estimates that approximately 450 employees, with a maximum 100 in Finland, within its markets unit will be affected by the planned changes.
Nokia also said it has plans for some smaller workforce adjustments in global process operations that it expects will impact approximately 35 employees, of which almost all are in Finland. Nokia did not offer further detail on the 35 positions.
"Today's changes are part of Nokia's constant renewal where it is important to be close to our customers and ensure that our people are able to focus on the key business priorities. Also, our aim is to find alternative work within Nokia for as many employees as possible," said Juha Äkräs, Nokia's senior VP of human resources, in a statement.
The layoffs will come into effect on January 1, 2009. Nokia expects the Turku site to be closed by the end of January 2009.
