Sweden's Ericsson slashes 1,550 jobs to cut costs

[November 07, 2012]  STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson says it is slashing 1,550 jobs in Sweden in a bid to lower its costs, with the bulk of the reductions being made within the company's key networks unit.

The Stockholm-headquartered group, which has around 17,800 staff in Sweden and some 100,000 worldwide, said Wednesday the cuts will be made across all work areas -- including sales, administration, research and development, supply and service delivery -- in a move to make the company slicker and more efficient.

Last month, Ericsson reported a 43 percent drop in third-quarter net profits as the global financial slowdown caused operators to become more cautious about investing in its network infrastructure business.

Last year, Ericsson exited from handset venture Sony Ericsson to solely focus on its core business.

[Associated Press]

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