The recently announced Nokia’s global rightsizing initiatives could impact between 1,000 and 1,500 employees in India over the next couple of years. Nokia has announced plans to cut over 10,000 jobs worldwide from a present strength of 90,000.

As per an ET report, functions such as global delivery centers and customer experience segments, including sales functions, could account for the majority of the jobs shed in India.

“The employees are concerned and various town halls are expected to take place later this month for various businesses...We are hoping to get clarity on our business and roles during these town halls,” said a Nokia executive.

Nokia employs some 15,000 people in India. It has two centers - in Chennai and Noida - for global service delivery, a manufacturing unit in Chennai, and its research and development center in Bengaluru. As per the report, the vendor’s India R&D center is unlikely to see a major impact as global R&D will continue to attract investments.

The Finnish company is struggling locally because of the Rs 1,000 crore-plus stuck payments at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), financial challenges at Vodafone Idea, and delays in 5G rollouts.

Nokia had 20,511 employees in the Asia Pacific region, of which 15,000 employees were based in India in 2020. The company’s net sales in the country fell from 1,348 million euros to 944 million euros in 2020. 

A Nokia spokesperson had told global media earlier this week that the rightsizing plans are global and likely to affect most countries, which means India too will be impacted. The exact details of how much this move will impact the Indian workforce will become clearer in the coming days.