Ericsson Trims 500 JobsEricsson Trims 500 Jobs

12:15 PM -- More of Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)'s cost reduction plans have been revealed as the Swedish vendor says it is cutting roughly 500 jobs in the U.K. and Germany. The move is part of a cost-cutting program Ericsson announced in February that is meant to save 4 billion Swedish kroner ($628 million) per year, starting in 2009. In February, the vendor said that it would cut 1,000 jobs in Sweden and a spokeswoman says that the cost reduction measures could result in 4,000 job losses globally. (See Ericsson Cuts Jobs as H2 Bites.)

In Germany, Ericsson said it will reduce the 2,400 workforce by between 350 and 400, most of which will be engineering and "white-collar" positions.

In the U.K., the vendor wants to merge its former Marconi Corp. plc factory in Beeston with one in Coventry. "About 320 employees will be affected, but at least 168 will be offered jobs in Coventry," says an Ericsson spokeswoman. (See Ericsson Buys Bulk of Marconi and Ericsson/Marconi: The Fallout.)

All in all, that amounts to about 500 job cuts.

— Michelle Donegan, Sent to Coventry, Light Reading