Nokia Siemens to Cut 9,000

Nokia Siemens Networks has begun its headcount reduction program, which will see its staff numbers cut by 9,000 from the current total of 60,000. (See Nokia Siemens Details Cuts and Nokia Siemens Reveals Product Picks.)

The vendor has said all along that cuts of between 6,000 and 9,000 would be made during the next few years, a process that will help it achieve savings of €1.5 billion per year by the end of 2010. Now it's clear the reductions will be at the top end of that proposed range.

“Many of our customers are facing intense cost pressure, relentless competition, and new business models. We must make the tough changes necessary to adapt to this reality," stated Christoph Caselitz, the vendor's chief market operations officer, in a prepared statement.

Nokia Siemens Networks, which began operations on April 1, says it has started sharing its job cuts plans with staff and works councils. The vendor says redundancies will take place "only after the completion of appropriate consultation processes and in accordance with local legal practices." (See Nokia Siemens Opens on a Downer.)

Of the 10,000 Nokia Siemens Networks staff based in Finland, between 1,500 and 1,700 will lose their jobs, with 700 reductions planned in the first phase. In Germany, between 2,800 and 2,900 of the current 13,000 staff will go. Other staff may also be transferred to some unspecified business partners.

Headcount reductions in other countries, which account for 37,000 of the vendor's staff, will be announced on a market-by-market basis as consultations progress.

The company also noted that, as the 9,000 reductions are made, new staff "with competencies not currently available in a number of countries" may be hired, but that it will "seek to move affected personnel to new positions where possible."

A spokeswoman says the vendor can't comment on which particular departments or lines of business will be most affected by the cuts while negotiations with the works councils are still ongoing.

Nokia Siemens Networks isn't the only vendor engaged in post-merger job cuts, as Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is cutting its staffing levels by 12,500. (See Alcatel-Lucent Job Cull Hits 12,500 and AlcaLu Rules Out French Redundancies.)

The sector's major mergers are having an impact beyond the companies directly involved, too. JDS Uniphase Corp. (Nasdaq: JDSU; Toronto: JDU) is cutting 400 jobs following a poor third quarter that was affected by industry consolidation. (See JDSU Regresses in Q3.)

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading