Nokia to downsize R&D by 700 staff

Stuart Corner
Friday, 16 February 2007 04:30

IT Industry - Deals

With the evasive language that seems to characterise all corporate downsizing announcements, Nokia has announced plans to reduce its global R&D workforce by some 700 employees.

In a press release headed "Nokia balances workforce to better meet changing business demands and dynamics," the company opened with some general observations on the state of the telecoms industry: "The communications industry is undergoing a transformation, driven by convergence, increased complexity, and strong growth in emerging markets and segments. Nokia is committed to continuously renewing itself and improving its operations to meet the demands these developments present."

It then went on to say: "Accordingly, the company is now taking proactive steps to improve the focus and efficiency of some of its R&D and related sales and marketing activities and internal IT operations, and plans to adjust its workforce within these functions to reflect business needs and the geographical shift in business growth."

Finally, it got to the point: "Over the course of the next few months, the company estimates that a maximum of 700 employees globally, approximately 340 of them in Finland, will be affected by these adjustments."

The 'adjustments' mainly affect Nokia's Enterprise Solutions business group, Nokia's IT organisation and part of the Software Platforms activities in Nokia's Technology Platforms unit.

Nokia estimates that, globally, approximately 360 employees in Enterprise Solutions and 30 employees in Customer and Market Operations will be 'affected' by these changes. In Nokia's IT organisation, the figure is 130 employees globally.

Nokia is also reviewing the Software Platforms activities in its Technology Platforms unit and planning actions to improve focus and efficiency in R&D. It estimates that these plans will result in about 140 positions being lost.

However not all 'affected' employees will get the flick: "Wherever possible, Nokia aims to redeploy impacted employees into new positions within the company, and also plans to introduce voluntary arrangements for employees. Where applicable, Nokia will start the consultation process with employee representatives about the planned changes," the company said.
 
"We have a number of positions open in Nokia, and the impacted people are naturally priority candidates for positions that match their competencies," said Juha Äkräs, Senior Vice President, Nokia Human Resources.