Telecom Company Ericsson To Lay Off 8,500 Workers As Part Of Cost-Cutting Plan

Swedish telecom equipment maker Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ADR (NASDAQ: ERIC) will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of a cost-cutting measure. 

Reuters reports that layoffs are predicted to affect North America and would be the largest to hit the telecom industry. 

Last week, the company announced that about 1,400 jobs in Sweden will be slashed as well. 

According to the company website, it has a worldwide staff of about 105,529 and employs approximately 11,994 people in North America. 

"The way headcount reductions will be managed will differ depending on local country practice," Reuters quoted Chief Executive Borje Ekholm saying in a memo.

"In several countries, the headcount reductions have already been communicated this week," he said.

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In December 2022, the company announced that it would cut costs by $880 million by the end of 2023 as demand slows in some markets.

"It is our obligation to take this cost out to remain competitive," Ekholm said in the memo. "Our biggest enemy right now may be complacency." 

According to Reuters, Ericsson's Chief Financial Officer Carl Mellander said that cost cuts would involve reducing consultants, real estate, and employee headcount.

The company has said that it expects to start seeing the effect of its cost savings in the second quarter of this year.

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