NSN to reduce 17,000 workforce globally

Nokia Siemens Networks has announced the reduction of 17,000 employees globally under its strategy to launch an extensive global restructuring program and to focus on mobile broadband and services.

The company plans to reduce the employees by 2013.According to the company, these planned reductions are expected to be driven by aligning the company’s workforce with its new strategy as well as through a range of productivity and efficiency measures.

''These planned reductions are regrettable but necessary and it is our goal to make them in a fair and responsible way, providing the support we can to employees and communities,'' said Rajeev Suri, CEO, NSN during the announcement.

The company also plans to focus primarily on mobile broadband customer experience management and services.

''Our goal is to provide the world’s most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services capability to make it all work seamlessly,” said the company.

The company aims to reduce its annualized operating expenses and production overheads by EUR 1 billion by the end of 2013.The company has said that it will also target areas such as real estate, information technology, product and service procurement costs, overall general and administrative expenses, and a significant reduction of suppliers in order to further lower costs and improve quality.

The company intends to launch programs at the most affected sites to provide re-training and re-employment support.