In a pretty unexpected move, Nokia plans to eliminate up to 14,000 jobs—indicating what could be a larger trend of slowing momentum in the tech industry. The announcement from the Finnish telecom leader follows other significant layoffs from major tech companies, including X (formerly Twitter), Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta, who’ve cumulatively cut over 50,000 positions this year.
Nokia wants to slash staffing costs by a lot of margins
Nokia’s decision is notably massive, designed to cut its workforce to a range between 72,000 and 77,000 employees. The aim? To slash staffing costs by 10% to 15%, promising savings of $421.4 million in 2024 alone. Nokia CEO, Pekka Lundmark, summed up the painful reality, stating, “The most difficult business decisions to make are the ones that impact our people.”
Why is this happening now? For Nokia, it’s a combination of missed financial targets and market factors. A 15% decline in third-quarter sales and a 19% dip in mobile network sales suggest a more critical look at the 5G market. Nokia’s Swedish competitor, Ericsson, also shares a grim outlook, citing a “challenging environment and macroeconomic uncertainty.”
But Nokia’s woes aren’t just financial. They’re also entangled in a complicated patent dispute with Oppo, OnePlus, and vivo, which could further strain their resources and market availability. Once a mobile phone titan, Nokia’s struggle to reinvent itself in the smartphone era has been something to witness.
Is Nokia’s dramatic decision just a case of corporate restructuring, or is it a symptom of a larger industry ailment? The sheer number and scale of recent layoffs in the tech world could point to a broader slowdown.
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