The Swedish giant will lay off 1,200 employees. “5G was not an instant success”

The Swedish supplier of telecommunications equipment has once again decided to reduce employment. At the end of last year, Sony Ericsson announced a layoff of 8%. its current staff, i.e. 8,500 employees. Similar information was provided by another Scandinavian market player – Nokia. In the fall of 2023, 14,000 layoffs are planned. employees. In each of these cases, the reason is the same: slowdown in sales of equipment using 5G technology.

Sony Ericsson expects a difficult year. It will already lay off 1,200 employees

The company admits that 2024 will not be the easiest year for the 5G market. According to their predictions, sales of equipment using this technology will slow down in South America and may decline sharply in India. “We expect a difficult year for the telecommunications market, including a further decline in contract volumes, as customers remain cautious,” the statement said.

“This is part of a global effort to improve the financial situation, including staff reductions, while maintaining investments that are crucial to Ericsson’s market leadership,” the company added. At the same time, Sony Ericsson emphasizes that in the coming months it intends to focus primarily on initiatives that can increase operational efficiency by 2024.

Problems in the 5G market. “This is not the first wave of layoffs

– This is not the first wave of layoffs. And not the last. Let’s be honest, 5G did not bring the instant success that everyone was counting on, said Paolo Pescatore, an analyst from PP Foresight, in an interview with . He added that this year and next we will hear about further layoffs related to problems in the mobile infrastructure market. As Reuters explains, Sony Ericsson employed almost 100,000 people at the end of last year. employees.