Nokia reportedly to cut at least 250 jobs in the Chicago area
Nokia confirmed that it is cutting jobs in Illinois, as part of its ongoing global headcount reduction and cost-cutting measures.
Contacted by RCR Wireless News, a Nokia spokesman confirmed that the company is reducing its headcount in Illinois, but declined to comment on the size of the reduction.
“Following the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent in 2016, Nokia announced a global synergy and transformation program that runs until the end of 2018, and as part of that program we have indeed reduced headcount in Illinois. The scope of the reductions and the current headcount in Illinois are not being shared, as per Nokia’s disclosure policy,” the spokesman said.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported that according to a source familiar with the layoffs, 250 Nokia employees in the Chicago area were recently told that their positions were being eliminated and another 250 people could be laid off by the end of the year.
Nokia’s acquisitions of Motorola’s equipment business and Alcatel-Lucent made the company one of the largest tech employers in the Chicago area; it consolidated operations in the former Alcatel-Lucent headquarters in Naperville, Ill. Nokia is trying to cut more than $1 billion in costs by the end of this year in the wake of the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition. In March, the firm said it would eliminate 353 jobs in Finland, and it has also sold its short-lived digital health business after acquiring that asset only about two years ago.
Nokia also recently came to an agreement with Toronto-based Volaris Group to sell the majority of its IP video business. A new streaming technology company, Velocix, will be formed by the sale, with a “substantial part of Nokia’s video product portfolio and employees … planned to move to Velocix,” Nokia has said. That transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter; Nokia will maintain a minority stake in Velocix and says it will “continue to play a critical role in supporting the company’s growth.”
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