Nokia to axe 10,000 staff

Finnish firm Nokia is to axe 10,000 of its staff by the end of 2013 as it warns of further losses from its mobile phone business.

In a statement, the firm said that it will "sharpen" its strategy to deliver mobile products. To do this it said that it "intends to improve its operating model by significantly reducing its device and services operating expenses, substantially reducing its headcount and reducing its factory footprint".

The firm said that it expects charges of about €1bn (£811m) relating to the restructuring programme.

"These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.

"We do not make plans that may impact our employees lightly, and as a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities," he added.

Last year, it was revealed that Elop had slammed his own company in a leaked internal memo, describing the firm's position to that of a man "standing on a burning platform".

Nokia has also warned that it expects greater losses than expected in its second quarter financial results.

The firm has had to battle with Apple and smartphones running Google's Android platform and said during the second quarter of 2012 the "competitive industry dynamic is negatively affecting the smart devices business unit to a somewhat greater extent than previously expected".

For the same reason, it expects further losses in the third quarter of 2012.

In a separate statement, Nokia confirmed that private equity firm EQT is to buy its luxury phone business, Vertu.