Sweden's Ericsson announces job cuts

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson has said it will cut about 15 hundred jobs at home in an attempt to lower its costs. The company has recently logged slumping profit and sales in many regions of the world. Wireless equipment maker Ericsson of Sweden announced on Wednesday it would slash 1,550 jobs in its own country in a bid to enhance the company's profitability. The Stockholm-based company currently has a workforce of about 100,000 worldwide, with close on 18,000 employed in Sweden. Ericsson said the domestic cuts would be made across all segments, including sales, administration, research and development, supply and service delivery. The firm added it had not yet determined a timetable for the layoffs, but said talks with staff representatives had begun. The group also said it would reduce sharply the number of consultants and temporary staff. Uphill battle Ericsson said in a statement that the company needed to become slicker and more efficient to keep afloat amid mounting competition on the telecommunications market. It's still reeling from a 42-percent drop in net profit in the third quarter of this year when it ran into major sales difficulties on many regional markets. Ericsson had logged weak revenues, particularly in parts of Europe. The firm has taken a hit from having signed contracts that offer only low margins of profit just to maintain market share. In-house restructuring started last year when the company opted out of the handset venture Sony Ericsson, with a view to focusing solely on its core business.