Ericsson will cut 1,200 jobs in Sweden

Ericsson
announced
on
Monday
that
it
will
lay
off
about
1,200
employees
in
Sweden
as
the
telecommunications
company
faces

slowed
demand
for
its
5G
equipment.

The
company
said
in
a

statement
that
the
downsizing
is
part
of
a
broader
cost-cutting
plan
this
year
that
will
include
more
efforts
to
boost
efficiency
as
it “expects
a
challenging
mobile
networks
market
in
2024,
with
further
volume
contraction
as
customers
remain
cautious.”
Last
year,
Ericsson

laid
off
8,500
staffers,
or
about
8%
of
its
workforce,
to
lower
costs.

“The
cost
saving
initiatives
cover
various
areas
such
as
reduction
of
consultants,
streamlining
of
processes,
and
reduced
facilities,”
the
company
said,
adding
that
it
had
begun
negotiations
with
unions.

Ericsson
had
99,950
employees,
including
10,744
workers
in
North
America,
at
the
end
of
2023,
according
to
a
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
filing.

“We
have
initiated
information
and
negotiations
with
the
unions
and
we
will
not
pre-empt
the
outcome
of
them,”
an
Ericsson
spokesperson
wrote
in
an
email
to
CNBC. “Our
aim
is
to
manage
this
process
with
fairness,
respect,
professionalism
and
in
line
with
the
Collective
Bargain
Agreement
and
Swedish
labor
law.”

Monday’s
announcement
comes
as
companies
across
the
tech
industry
continue
to

slash
jobs
in
large
numbers.
More
than
50,000
workers
have
been
laid
off
from
over
200
tech
companies
since
the
start
of
the
year,
according
to

Layoffs.fyi.
In
2023,
more
than
260,000
workers
were
let
go
from
almost
1,200
tech
companies.

Industry
giants


Alphabet,


Amazon,


Meta
and


Microsoft
have
all
contributed
to
the
flurry
of
job
cuts
this
year,
along
with
companies
including


Cisco,


DocuSign,


Snap
and


Zoom,
in
hopes
of
raising
profits
through
focused
spending
and
efficiency
fueled
by
artificial
intelligence.