Nokia must cut Alcatel-Lucent's workforce by a third as it continues to factor in competitive costs in the 5G equipment market. The Finnish mobile giant acquired its French rival for around €14.1 billion in 2015, hoping to create a European network giant capable of challenging Ericsson and Huawei. The EU gave its blessing on the grounds that the merger would not distort competition in the market. However, to win the support of the French government, Nokia has promised to save jobs for two years and make the Alcatel-Lucent division a focus of its 5G research division.
Nokia Alcatel-Lucent jobs
However, the high cost of developing 5G technology and intense competition in the sector have led Nokia to lower its financial outlook and suspend dividends of late. Earlier this year, CEO Rajeev Suri confirmed that he would step down on September 1 as the company prepared to fend off any hostile takeover attempts. The layoffs are part of cost-cutting measures designed to ease the transition to the 5G era and support Nokia's ambitions to become a next-generation "end-to-end" network hardware provider. In the UK, Nokia is a key provider for the O2 5G network. Nokia employs more than 5.000 people in France, more than two-thirds of whom work at Alcatel-Lucent. It is understood that 1.233 jobs must be cut, particularly affecting R&D teams. "Nokia will continue to be a major employer in France with a strong presence in R&D, sales and services, allowing us to develop and run our customers' projects effectively," said Thierry Boisnon, president of Nokia France. via Reuters