Nokia Siemens chief Rajeev Suri is swinging the axe in a bid to shave €1 billion from the firm’s operating costs in the next two years.
Approximately 17,000 jobs will go from the infrastructure firm by end-2013 as part of the restructuring plan, which is designed to return the business to profitability.
Some of the jobs will be shed as the firm switches its focus onto mobile broadband networks and managed services. The firm plans to sell businesses deemed to be non-core, or manage them for value, a statement reveals.
Suri says reform is needed to “maintain long term competitiveness and improve profitability in a challenging telecommunications market,” adding that the job losses are “regrettable but necessary.”
Joint venture partners Nokia and Siemens indicated change was afoot in September when they appointed Jesper Ovesen executive chairman after being forced to inject an extra €1 billion each into NSN. Ovesen previously handled a restructure and IPO at Danish telco TDC, and is tasked with overseeing strategy at the vendor.
NSN has failed to drag itself out of the red in 2011, with losses of €111 million ($148.3 million) and €114 million in the second and third quarters respectively.
Other measures in the restructure include selling off real estate, cutting procurement costs and general admin expenses, and reducing the number of suppliers used.