Nokia makes rare job cuts

Nokia today quietly revealed that it will cut jobs, marking one of the few instances in recent years that the company has opted to scale back its business. The cellphone maker says it will shed about 450 general positions at Nokia as well as 130 researchers and 35 global processing workers. The company characterizes the move as reprioritizing its business and as a move to "de-layer" its operations.

In some cases, the company hopes to find new positions for those who would otherwise exit the Finnish company.

The layoffs come following a disappointing summer for Nokia. The firm's total market share remained larger and was near-steady but was countered by a drop in smartphone share year-over-year as the iPhone 3G, BlackBerries and other devices damaged Nokia's grip on the cellphone market. Its net sales and the average sales price for a phone also dropped yearly and are under further risk from a weakened world economy that most believe will push users to lower-cost cellphones.

Filed under: iPhone, industry, mobile phones
Other story tags: Nokia, BlackBerry