On June 15, 2012, Nokia announced a global layoff of 10,000 employees, cutting expenditures by 1.6 billion euros; it also announced adjustments to the management team, reshuffling its leadership. Following the news, Nokia's stock plummeted by 15.77%.
In Nokia's recent large-scale restructuring, the last major mobile phone factory in Europe was forced to close. As early as February this year, there were rumors of layoffs at the factory located in Salo, Finland. After Nokia CEO Stephen Elop visited, employees thought their jobs were secure. However, the closure of the Salo factory will result in 850 people losing their jobs, and the local government will lose 90% of tax revenue.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop hopes this move will reduce equipment expenses and allow the company to focus on the smartphone sales market.
In a statement, Nokia said that as part of its transformation and restructuring plan, some departments in Finland, Germany, and Canada will be closed. At the same time, Chief Marketing Officer Jerri DeVard, Head of the Mobile Division Mary McDowell, and Head of Marketing Niklas Savander will leave the company.
Elop stated, 'We must change our operating model and restructure the new framework to ensure our competitiveness.' Nokia predicts that the company's mobile business losses in the second quarter will exceed expectations.
Additionally, Nokia's adjustment plan includes focusing investments on products and services that make Lumia smartphones more outstanding and attract more users; investing in location-based services to make it a competitive feature of Nokia products and expanding the location platform into new areas; and enhancing the competitiveness and profitability of the feature phone business.
On July 25, 2012, Nokia's layoffs in China were no longer limited to sales staff; previously considered the safest, R&D employees were also affected.
Layoffs in Nokia China initially started with sales staff, merging the original four major sales regions into two. This time, Nokia China publicly confirmed that employees of Nokia China Research Institute were also included in the layoffs.
Besides the sales and R&D departments, the layoffs also involved several other departments, including the information department. Relevant personnel in Nokia China stated that specific details of the layoffs are not convenient to disclose externally.
