Nokia Cuts Almost 2,000 China Jobs Amid Tough Telecom Market

(Bloomberg) — Nokia Oyj has cut almost 2,000 jobs in China, as part of a sweeping cost-reduction program as the Finnish company grapples with a sluggish telecom equipment market, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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The job cuts are part of a broad effort announced last year to reduce headcount by as much as 14,000, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. Nokia employs about 10,400 people in Greater China as of the end of 2023, according to a company report.

Nokia and its Nordic rival Ericsson AB have been slashing costs in the face of slow sales, as telecom operators delay or scale back expensive infrastructure upgrades. In China, the world’s largest 5G market, European companies are losing out to local rivals like Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp.

Nokia currently makes up less than 5% of the total equipment market share in China, a spokesperson said. Business has become more challenging as US-China trade relations have deteriorated, with Chinese operators rejecting European equipment just as the US and some European nations have rejected Chinese tech. Nokia has been scaling back its presence in China, selling its part of a joint venture with Huawei in the country earlier this year.

The company declined to comment about the Chinese job cuts, which Reuters reported earlier.

Nokia is also cutting 350 more jobs in Europe, 48 of them in Finland, Nokia said on Thursday after notifying unions. The company has already cut 7,500 jobs and said it has reduced costs by €500 million ($543 million) so far as part of its wider program, a spokesperson said. The company currently has 78,500 employees.

Ericsson is also undergoing its own major cost reduction plan, announcing plans to cut 8,500 jobs last year.

Nokia disclosed the job cuts on the day it announced sales from the third quarter missed analyst estimates, saying a recovery is happening slower than expected.

(Updates with context throughout)

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