A Finnish union representatives claims Nokia job cuts could impact up to 15,000 employees as vendor looks to trim $1 billion in operating costs
Nokia looks set to move on plans to cut up to 15,000 jobs as part of its ongoing integration of Alcatel-Lucent and plans to trim up to $1 billion in operating costs.
According to Reuters, a Finnish union representative said Nokia looked to be on track to slash between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs, or up to 14% of its current combined workforce. Nokia has already announced plans to cut 2,400 jobs in Finland and Germany as part of its plans to slash costs, though it did promise French officials it would not cut anymore jobs in the country over the next two years that had already not been announced prior to the closing of the deal.
The Communications Workers of America, which represents some of Nokia’s union workers in the U.S., told Reuters the equipment vendor had cut about 500 U.S. jobs ahead of the acquisition.
“We don’t know what Nokia’s plan is for the U.S.-based workforce,” CWA spokeswoman Lisa Bolton said. “They have cut 500, cut our (unionized) workforce in half, and we hope that’s all that is going to be taken away.”
The CWA is currently embroiled in a labor stand off with Verizon Communications, with nearly 40,000 union employees represented by CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers striking against the telecom giant.
Reports initially surfaced last month that Nokia was looking to cut thousands of jobs following the closing of its $16.5 billion acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent. Company officials said headcount reductions would target “areas where there are overlaps,” including research and development, regional and sales organization, and corporate functions.
“These actions are designed to ensure that Nokia remains a strong industry leader,” explained Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri, in a statement. “When we announced the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent we made a commitment to deliver 900 million euros in synergies – and that commitment has not changed. We also know that our actions will have real human consequences and, given this, we will proceed in a way that that is consistent with our company values and provide transition and other support to the impacted employees.”
Huawei is reported to have in 2015 surpassed both Nokia and Ericsson in terms of global equipment sales.
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