Nokia’s woes are continuing, as today the company announced that it would be “improving efficiencies in manufacturing, Location & Commerce, and supporting functions.” This of course means job losses at Nokia, with an expected 3,500 employees to lose their jobs by the end of 2012, and this isn’t the end as Nokia plan on reviewing production operations at several other locations.
These job cuts come from two areas: the closure of the Location & Commerce businesses in Bonn, Germany and Malven, US; and the closure of the massive Cluj manufacturing plant in Romania by the end of 2011. The cuts from these closures are 2,200 people and 1,300 people respectively. Further, Nokia stated that it will be reviewing the “long-term role” of their Finland, Hungary and Mexico manufacturing plants, which could lead to more job cuts.
Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop said in the press release:
We are seeing solid progress against our strategy, and with these planned changes we will emerge as a more dynamic, nimble and efficient challenger. We must take painful, yet necessary, steps to align our workforce and operations with our path forward.
These job cuts are in addition to 4,000 already announced earlier this year, which will amount to 7,500 job losses by the end of 2012. However, business at Nokia may pick up over the coming months and years, as the company plans on launching their new Windows Phone smartphone range very soon, meaning that less job cuts are necessary.