Ericsson to cut extra 1,500 jobs worldwide

Mobile comms vendor to axe more workers after big yearly losses

More jobs axed at Sony Ericsson

Mobile phone communications vendor Ericsson is to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide.

This is on top of the 5,000 jobs it axed last year in an effort to control costs, amid continuing global economic turmoil.

Sony Ericsson, the 50:50 joint venture company set up in 2001, did report an increase in handset sales, shipping 14.6 million units for the fourth financial quarter of 2009. The increase from the previous quarter was three per cent, but the year-on-year figure decreased 40 per cent, reflecting increased competition with the likes of Apple's iPhone.

Increased competition in the comms equipment market was also a factor, with the Swedish communications vendor having to compete with rising stars, like China's networking and communications vendor Huawei.

The job cuts could reflect Sony Ericsson's forecast of only "a slight growth in units in the global handset market in 2010".

Ericsson was unavailable for comment about how many UK jobs were under threat.

The increasingly tough market saw joint venture company, Nokia Siemens Networks, announcing its plans late last year to reduce operational costs by €500m (£447m) by the end of 2011, in an attempt to fend off losses of £500m last year, and return to growth. Part of those cuts would involve a nine per cent of the firm's 64,000 staff - roughly 5,700 workers.