Ericsson to lay off 8,500 employees worldwide

Swedish manufacturer of telecommunications equipment Ericsson will cut 8500 employees worldwide, reported Reuters with a link to the company’s internal mailing list.

In a letter to employees, chief executive Borje Ekholm said the company must cut costs to remain competitive.

“Our biggest enemy right now could be complacency,” he says.

As the agency notes, against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, telecommunications companies have increased their stocks of equipment, which is why equipment manufacturers are now facing a decrease in demand in many markets, including North America. In this regard, Ericsson plans to cut costs by $880 million by the end of the year.

Earlier this week, the company had already announced it was laying off 1,400 employees in Sweden. In total, its staff has 105,000 people around the world. Ekholm’s report does not indicate which country units will be hit the hardest by the cuts. At the same time, analysts believe that layoffs will affect North America to a greater extent, and growing markets, such as India, to a lesser extent.

Ericsson is a Swedish company headquartered in Stockholm. Cooperation with this equipment manufacturer was reported at various times by the largest Russian telecom operators, in particular, MTS And Megaphone.

April 2022 Ericsson announced the suspension of work in the Russian Federation. The company clarified that they stopped supplying telecommunications equipment to the Russian Federation at the end of February. In August Ericsson announced that it would curtail its activities in Russia. According to CEO Børje Ekholm, the company lost 1.2 billion Swedish kronor, or about $130 million, on leaving the Russian market. December 15 Ericsson announced on the sale of the Russian customer support business of its subsidiary in the Russian Federation.