Nokia to Slash 10,000 Jobs, Close Facilities, Hopefully Get Back on Track

In as roundabout a way as possible, Nokia announced that it will be cutting 10,000 jobs by the end of 2013 to reduce its operating expenses. The company also announced plans to cut some of its R&D efforts by closing facilities located in Germany and Canada, consolidating some manufacturing (and therefore closing a plant in Salo, Finland), and possibly divesting some of its assets. (Later in the day Nokia announced that it was selling off Vertu to a European equity group.)

Nokia is also shaking up its leadership team, with several key executives stepping down and others stepping up.

In refocusing its energies, Nokia said that it would be heavily investing in its Lumia products (including the acquisition of Scalado and its imaging technology), its location-based products and platform, and its feature phones.


“These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. "We do not make plans that may impact our employees lightly, and as a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities."