Nokia to cut 10,000 more jobs

LONDON (ShareCast) - Struggling telecoms firm Nokia (Stockholm: NOKI-SEK.ST - news) has announced plans to cut another 10,000 positions globally by the end of 2013. Finland's biggest firm said the job losses were necessary to "ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength". The latest losses come on top of 14,000 cuts that were announced last year. The cuts are part of a wide-ranging plan aimed at "sharpening its strategy, improving its operating model and returning the company to profitable growth". It has also begun an executive shake-up to try and stem the company's decline having failed to keep up with Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) 's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy (BSE: GALAGEX.BO - news) . The cull includes the loss of its chief marketing officer as well as two executive vice-presidents. The firm's share price has plunged 70% in the last four months after it abandoned its Symbian smartphone operating software in favour of Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) 's Windows Phone system. Nokia now plans to rescale the company by making cuts in its Devices & Services division that it hopes will save €1bn a year. This will include reductions in research and development projects, resulting in the closure of its facilities in Ulm, Germany and Burnaby, Canada. The firm will also sell its Vertu division, which creates luxury versions of its phones by cladding them in gems and precious metals. However, the company said it would put more time and money into its Lumia smartphone. "We are increasing our focus on the products and services that our consumers value most while continuing to invest in the innovation that has always defined Nokia," said Elop. "We intend to pursue an even more focused effort on Lumia, continued innovation around our feature phones, while placing increased emphasis on our location-based services. "However, we must re-shape our operating model and ensure that we create a structure that can support our competitive ambitions," he said. The company ladled on the bad news, cutting its second quarter outlook. It said Devices & Services operating margin in the second quarter would be below the first quarter 2012 level of negative 3.0%. This compares to the previous outlook of similar to or below the first quarter level of negative 3.0%.