Ericsson Cuts 10,000 JobsSwedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson is to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide, from a workforce of 100,000, BBC reports Friday.More than half of the job losses will come outside of Sweden, but the company has not confirmed where they will fall. Workers in the UK are expected to be affected. The news follows a sharp slowdown in the market for mobile phones. Ericsson also confirmed it was in talks with Japanese electronics giant Sony over a joint manufacturing deal. It said the job cuts could trigger similar moves by other hard-pressed handset manufacturers. An Ericsson spokesman told BBC Breakfast the company was adjusting to the "realities in the telecom market worldwide." "It is clear the impact in the United States is spilling over into Europe," he added. Friday's announcement will be a further blow to Ericsson's 3,000 strong UK workforce. Last month, the company announced it was closing two UK factories, with the loss of 1,200 jobs. Ericsson said it would not know for another two weeks where the latest round of job cuts would fall. But it said it was planning to cut back on its 15,000 freelance consultants. It also said Research and Development was unlikely to be affected. The latest round of job cuts comes as Ericsson posts a first quarter pre-tax loss of 4.9 billion Swedish crowns against market expectations of a 5.05 billion crown loss. The company said sales had fallen 5% and it was unlikely to improve its results in the second quarter of the year. |
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