Finnish giant Nokia stated in a press release on Thursday that the company is planning to cut up to 14,000 employees as it aims to save up to €1.2 billion by 2026.
Nokia’s Thursday Q3 reports stated that quarterly comparable sales dropped 20%, while US sales are down 40% as the market remains unstable.
Letting go of up to 14000 employees will reduce Nokia’s annual staffing cost by 10-15% as part of their efforts to reduce gross costs by up to €1.2 bln by 2026.
Nokia’s shares are down 1.95% and are trading at €3.19 at the time of writing.
President and CEO of Nokia, Pekka Lundmark, said that the company´s “third quarter performance demonstrated resilience in our operating margin despite the impact of the weaker environment on our net sales. In the last three years, we have invested heavily to strengthen our technology leadership across the business, giving us a firm foundation to weather this period of market weakness.”
The CEO added that while she believed in Nokia´s long-term market attractiveness, “given the uncertain timing of the market recovery, we are now taking decisive action on three levels: strategic, operational, and cost. I believe these actions will make us stronger and deliver significant value for our shareholders”.