Massive Layoff Alert: 14K Jobs on the Line?

Finnish MNC Nokia is readying to cut down its workforce drastically. According to a report in Moneycontrol, Nokia is set to reduce its global workforce by 20 per cent. Currently, Nokia has a  global workforce of over 74,000 employees. In India, Nokia has 17,000 employees. Over 14,000 employees are likely to be laid off, to reduce costs amid falling demand for 5G equipment and a broader restructuring plan of India teams.

The decision to reduce the Indian workforce comes after company’s India performance has declined. The company’s net sales dropped 15 per cent year-on-year to 393 million euros (nearly Rs 4,290 crore) in fourth quarter of 2025. The drop in sales is in comparison to India net sales of 463 million euros (around Rs 5,000 crore) in the same quarter, the year before.

The restructuring of the company in India began by changing the leadership. While the former India head exited the company amidst the revamping of the organization, two new heads, Samar Mittal (Inda Country Business Leader) and Vibha Mehra (India Country manager) were appointed.

It is being said that the merger of Nokia’s Cloud and Network Services, with Mobile Networks, in 2023, led to duplication and the layoffs has been planned to address the issue.

In 2018, Nokia’s total workforce was at 103,000 which has dropped to 74,100 now. In eight years, the workforce has dropped by 30,000. The Indian head-count also decreased by 500 in the same period.

Sources said that Nokia is contemplating 1,400 job cuts in Europe too, with teams in Italy, Greece, France and Germany to be downsized.

Tech giants Amazon, Microsoft and Google had already laid off thousands of workers. Nokia’s telecom rival Ericsson also laid off 5,000 employees last year.  Meta is also planning to cut down its workforce.