Mobile phone producer Nokia has announced it will shed 10,000 jobs globally by the end of 2013. The move, announced today ( June 14 ) is part of major overhaul of the company's operations in an effort to halt mounting losses. Several Nokia facilities are to close, including research and development units in Ulm, Germany and Burnaby, Canada, as well as the firm's manufacturing plant in Salo, Finland. “These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength,” said Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop.

Via the plans, Nokia aims to reduce costs by a further EUR 1.6 billion by the end of 2013. Apart from indicating the imminent closure of the three above mentioned facilities, Nokia has not given information on exactly where and how the jobs will be cut. Nokia closed down its factory in Romania in fall last year, moving production to Asia. We wrote about it here. De'Longhi bought its production facility at Jucu, Cluj, for its own production unit.

According to the company, consultations with employee representatives on the specific legal requirements associated with job losses in different countries have begun. Nokia will also streamline its corporate, IT and support functions, as well as concentrating on core businesses. The firm has indicated that divestment could be on the cards, as the company aims to sell off non-core businesses. The sale of Nokia's luxury mobile phone business Vertu to EQT VI, a European private equity firm was also announced today.

Nokia is a Finnish mobile phone producer and although its origins date back to the 19th century, the foundations of the modern company were laid in 1967 with the merger of three jointly owned companies to form the Nokia Corporation. The company was involved in cable production and telecommunications and was one of the pioneers of the modern mobile phone.

With the rise of mobile phones in the 90s, Nokia became a dominant force and until very recently produced the majority of the world’s mobile phones. The last few years have been difficult for Nokia, with the arrival of smartphones, when the company’s own models have struggled against fierce competition from Blackberry, Apple and Google Android devices.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com 

(photo source: Nokia)