Ericsson announced it is planning to cut jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures.
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Ericsson announced on Monday that it will lay off about 1,200 employees in Sweden as the telecommunications company faces slowed demand for its 5G equipment.
The company said in a statement that the downsizing is part of a broader cost-cutting plan this year that will include more efforts to boost efficiency as it “expects a challenging mobile networks market in 2024, with further volume contraction as customers remain cautious.” Last year, Ericsson laid off 8,500 staffers, or about 8% of its workforce, to lower costs.
“The cost saving initiatives cover various areas such as reduction of consultants, streamlining of processes, and reduced facilities,” the company said, adding that it had begun negotiations with unions.
Ericsson had 99,950 employees, including 10,744 workers in North America, at the end of 2023, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
“We have initiated information and negotiations with the unions and we will not pre-empt the outcome of them,” an Ericsson spokesperson wrote in an email to CNBC. “Our aim is to manage this process with fairness, respect, professionalism and in line with the Collective Bargain Agreement and Swedish labor law.”
Monday’s announcement comes as companies across the tech industry continue to slash jobs in large numbers. More than 50,000 workers have been laid off from over 200 tech companies since the start of the year, according to Layoffs.fyi. In 2023, more than 260,000 workers were let go from almost 1,200 tech companies.
Industry giants Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have all contributed to the flurry of job cuts this year, along with companies including Cisco, DocuSign, Snap and Zoom, in hopes of raising profits through focused spending and efficiency fueled by artificial intelligence.
