Ericsson is shutting down its R&D facility in the UK, launched just six months ago. The move will cause the loss of 700 staff.
The facility in Coventry also handles global service delivery activities, which will also be cut. The facility may possibly close indefinitely. The job cuts will be implemented by mid-2010.
“We have to work continuously to increase efficiency and lower our cost base whilst ensuring we deliver solutions designed to meet our global customers' needs,” said the head of Ericsson’s north western Europe unit, Mats Granryd.
The vendor said that move would not affect its local customer activities in Britain and it aims to relocate the activities to other facilities where there are significant scale and product synergies.
UK union Unite damned Ericsson’s decision, stating that it had hit workers hard as most didn't expect the facility, which was opened in May, to close down.
“This has come as a bolt out of the blue for the workforce and their families who were looking forward to a promising future in this newly opened site,” said Unite national officer Peter Skyte.
Skyte added that the move throws highly skilled workers out of work, “and robs the UK of key technological development, vital for its future."