Nokia announces fresh round of job cuts

Job cuts at Nokia are more due to its ongoing restructure than any economic factors

Nokia has warned that a series of company reorganisations could lead to around 600 employees losing their jobs.

The company said on Tuesday that it plans a number of moves within its markets and research centre units. Of the jobs which could be cut, roughly 235 are located in Nokia's home country of Finland.

Nokia said that the moves were more due to its ongoing restructure than any economic factors.

"Today's changes are part of Nokia's constant renewal where it is important to be close to our customers and ensure that our people are able to focus on the key business priorities," said Juha Äkräs, Nokia's senior vice president of human resources.

"Also, our aim is to find alternative work within Nokia for as many employees as possible."

Most of the cuts will come from sales and marketing activities in Nokia's markets unit. The firm said that some 450 employees could be affected by the cuts, 100 of whom are based in Finland.

Many of the remaining cuts will come from the Nokia Research Center, which will see as many as 130 employees affected, including 100 in Finland.

The remainder will be among the 35 roles that could be cut globally as Nokia shifts its global process operations unit. Nearly all of those moves are said to be occurring in Finland.

Nokia has already expressed gloom over the current economic climate and today's announcement comes in the midst of a wave of cuts in the consumer and enterprise technology markets.

Circuit City announced yesterday that it is to close 155 stores in the US, while Xerox and Yahoo announced thousands of job cuts in October.