Ericsson to slash 8,500 jobs - report

Telecoms giant Ericsson is to lay off 8,500 staff in a bid to slash costs, according to media reports on Friday

The firm notified staff of the measures, in an internal company memo this week, with chief executive Borje Ekholm saying “the way headcount reductions will be managed will differ depending on local country practice”.

Ericsson has 105,500 staff worldwide, implying a cutback of around 8% of jobs. The firm has around 1400 staff in the UK according to its most recent annual report filed with Companies House, Reuters reported.

The news comes as German chemicals company BASF said it was axing more than 2,000 jobs and shuttering plants.

BASF, which has been hit hard by soaring energy and raw materials costs, said it expected around 2,600 net job losses as part of previously announced plans to reduce annual non-production costs by €500m in Europe.

Ericsson on Monday also announced plans to cut about 1,400 jobs in Sweden. The company said in December it would cut costs by 9bn Swedish crowns by the end of 2023 as demand slows in some markets, including North America.

"It is our obligation to take this cost out to remain competitive," Ekholm said in the memo. "Our biggest enemy right now may be complacency."

Many telecom companies had beefed up their inventories during the height of the pandemic which is now leading to slowing orders for telecom equipment makers.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com