Ericsson, the Swedish telecom equipment maker, announced Friday that it is laying off 8% of its global workers to slash expenses, the latest in a wave of layoffs at IT companies. The Stockholm-based business, which manufactures equipment for high-speed 5G wireless networks, said it expects to lay off 8,500 workers this year and into 2024 as part of a plan to cut spending by 9 billion Swedish kronor ($857 million) by the end of the year.
“We aim to manage the process in every country with fairness, respect, professionalism, and in line with local labor legislation,” Ericsson said in a statement.
The company in December announced its push to slash costs. It said Friday that it expects to see results in the second quarter as it simplifies and becomes more efficient, including cutting back its workforce of about 105,000 people worldwide.
“We are also working on our service delivery, supply, real estate, and IT. We have already started to implement and accelerate various initiatives to help us reach” the cost-cutting goal, Ericsson said.
It comes as several big giants, including Spotify, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook parent Meta, have cut thousands of positions in recent months. They had gone on recruiting binges in recent years, as demand for their goods, software, and services increased due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which had millions of people working and learning remotely. Ericsson posted a profit of $1.86 billion and revenue of $26.93 billion for 2022 last month.
