Espoo, Finland – Nokia plans to
cut 7,000 employees worldwide by the end of 2012 and outsource its Symbian OS
software operations to Accenture as part of its
to regain market share and focus on the Windows Phone OS for
smartphones.
The announcements follow a first-quarter
1.4 percent drop in net income to 344 million Euros.
As part of the restructuring,
Nokia will move North American sales and marketing operations from White
Plains, N.Y., to the company’s Sunnyvale, Calif., facilities, a spokesperson
told TWICE. “This will give us a greater presence in Silicon Valley, which, of
course, is a hub of innovation in mobile and wireless,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of the global workforce rebalancing, we will ramp down the White
Plains, N.Y., office in a transition that will extend through the end of 2012.”
The company did not disclose the
number of U.S. employees to be cut, but the company said the majority of
reductions would occur in Denmark, Finland and the UK.
When asked if Nokia would remain in
the U.S. CDMA phone market,” the spokesperson said, “Nothing to announce on
CDMA today.” She did say, however, that Nokia is “increasing our investments in
key strategic areas in the U.S.”
The 7,000 positions to be cut,
including 3,000 to be transferred to Accenture as part of the outsourcing
agreement, represent about 12 percent of Nokia’s staff, excluding a joint
venture with Siemens and the company’s Navteq maps group. The cuts will be made
in phases through 2012.
The cuts are part of Nokia’s
plans to cut operating expenses by 1 billion Euros in 2013 compared to 2010.
That target was announced last week.
The deal to outsource Symbian
operations is expected to be finalized in the summer, with Accenture picking up
Nokia’s Symbian-related employees by the end of 2011. As part of the deal,
Accenture will also provide mobility software, business and operational
services around the Windows Phone platform to Nokia and other Windows Phone
ecosystem participants. Accenture will become a preferred partner for Nokia’s
smartphone development activities as well as a preferred provider of services,
Nokia also said.
