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Nokia announces 250 job cuts in India

By Nithya Bose in Business News, posted February 22, 2024

Nokia is cutting roughly 250 jobs in India in a major reorganisation to streamline operations and reduce costs.

The restructuring also involves removing executive roles like the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and head of legal affairs.

The telecom giant faces a challenging environment in the country.

It’s due to reduced capital expenditure on 5G networks by telecommunications majors such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and the financially troubled Vodafone Idea.

Nokia has appointed Tarun Chhabra as the new head of its India operations, effective Monday, April 1.

Chhabra, succeeding the retiring Sanjay Malik, will continue leading Nokia India's mobile networks division and reporting to Tommi Uitto, the global head of mobile networks.

Under the new operational model, Nokia India will be divided into three main business groups: Mobile Networks, Cloud & Network Services (CNS), and Network Infrastructure, which includes IP and optical transport systems and fixed networks.

This model aims to enhance operational autonomy, agility, and responsiveness to customer needs in India and globally.

Nokia's restructuring efforts are focused on strategic, operational, and cost dimensions.

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It aims to streamline its operating model by integrating sales teams more closely with business groups and recalibrating its cost base to ensure profitability.

Most job cuts would affect the sales and operations segments, with several senior positions at risk.

However, there have been no reductions in the workforce at Nokia’s Chennai manufacturing unit, which employs nearly 5,000 people.

Overall, Nokia India has a workforce of about 17,000 across various functions.

This organisational shake-up is part of Nokia's wider global restructuring effort, which may lead to up to 14,000 job cuts worldwide.

It also follows a 33 percent decrease in Nokia's net sales in India in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The decline is attributed to the completion of 5G rollouts by major clients, leading to reduced capital expenditures.

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