Nokia’s fortunes continue to take a tumble as it today announced the lay-off of yet more employees. Between now and the end of next year Nokia will be looking to shed a further 10,000 workers in addition to any other lay-offs, as well as announcing a reshuffling of executives. The move is expected to cost Nokia some 1 billion euros in restructuring costs and that comes on top of the existing figure of 900 million euros that Nokia has made known already tied to existing restructuring plans.
Not that 1.9 billion euros is pocket change to Nokia these days. For the past two reported quarters Nokia has seen a loss; $1.2 billion in the last quarter of 2011 and $1.7 billion in the first quarter of this year. These losses come at the same time as Nokia has shed Vertu, it’s luxury phone line. Private equity firm EQT snapped it up although Nokia itself will still hold onto a 10% stake.
All in all not a good time for Nokia, once the darling and powerhouse of the mobile world. The company has largely bet its future on Windows Mobile, Microsoft’s mobile operating platform that is itself still struggling to gain traction in the market. A mixed reception for its first major Windows Phone device, the Lumia 900, has also not helped Nokia and with the announcement that more jobs are set to go at the Finnish manufacturer many may be wondering how much longer Nokia can hang on.
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