The 12 percent reduction in the Finnish company’s global work force will help trim operating costs by €1 billion, or $1.47 billion, a 17 percent reduction, by the end of 2012. Analysts had expected that 5,000 to 6,000 jobs would be cut.  

In a statement, Nokia said the reductions would be achieved by eliminating 4,000 jobs, mostly in Britain, Denmark and Finland, and by transferring 3,000 employees responsible for its Symbian operating system to Accenture, a global technology consultant to businesses.

The company, which is based in Espoo, Finland, employed 59,080 in its cellphone business at the end of 2010. The figure excludes staff at Nokia Siemens Networks, its network joint venture, and at Navteq, a U.S. mapping data company it owns.

Nokia produced 108.5 million mobile phones last year, supplying 32 percent of the global market, but this year the company ceded the lead in cellphone revenue to Apple, the maker of the iPhone, according to Strategy Analytics, a research firm.

In addition to the job cuts, which will become official following negotiations with labor representatives, Nokia said it planned to consolidate its research and development division so that each site had a clear role and mission. Nokia has mobile phone R.&D. sites in Finland, China, India, Germany, England, Denmark and San Diego.

Some sites will grow, others will contract and some will be closed as a result of the reorganization, Nokia said, without providing further details.

Nokia’s failure to capitalize on the smartphone boom has cost the Finnish company market share and prestige as the center of gravity in its industry has shifted from hardware and communications to software and applications.

By: DocMemory
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