Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson to cut 8,500 jobs worldwide

Stockholm:

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson said on Friday it would cut 8,500 jobs worldwide, part of a cost-cutting program as financial headwinds prompt operators to rein in spending.

Ericsson, which had a total of 105,000 employees at the end of 2022, last month reported disappointing full-year 2022 earnings as operators slowed spending on rolling out the latest 5G networks due to a global economic slowdown and rising inflation.

The Swedish company said most of the layoffs would be implemented in the first half of 2023 and the rest in 2024, as it accelerated its $860 million cost savings plan announced in late 2022.

“We see potential in the company to simplify and become more efficient, particularly in structural costs. But we are also working on our service delivery, supply, real estate and IT,” spokeswoman Jenny Hedelin told AFP.

“However, this will unfortunately result in the need to address the workforce. We believe a total of 8,500 positions will be affected”, she said.

Ericsson said the 1,400 job cuts were in Sweden, which was announced earlier this week.

For 2022, the group posted a 39 percent drop in net profit to 6.2 billion kronor (1.7 billion euros, $1.8 billion).

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