#Nokia cutting up to 10,000 jobs in corporate restructuring

Nokia on Tuesday said it plans to slash up to 10,000 jobs over the next two years as it forges ahead with a corporate restructuring.

The layoffs are part of a cost-cutting effort that will help free up funds for investments in research and development along with 5G and other projects, the Finnish telecom giant said.

Nokia expects to have 80,000 to 85,000 employees after it implements the scheme over the next 18 to 24 months, down from about 90,000 today. The exact number of layoffs will depend on “market developments” in the next two years, the company said.

“Decisions that may have a potential impact on our employees are never taken lightly,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said in a statement. “Ensuring we have the right setup and capabilities is a necessary step to deliver sustainable long-term performance.”

The plan will lower Nokia’s total cost base by roughly 600 million euros (about $716 million) by the end of 2023, savings that will offset investments in R&D and future capabilities such as 5G, cloud and digital infrastructure, according to a news release.

The cuts were in line with a new strategy Lundmark announced in October that restructured Nokia into four business groups to help it become more competitive.

The company’s US-listed shares ticked up about 0.5 percent to $4.32 in premarket trading as of 8:52 a.m. Tuesday. The stock has dropped from the peak of $9.79 it reached in late January when it was caught up in the Reddit-fueled market frenzy.