Ericsson is cutting 3,000 jobs in Sweden, but also hiring 1,000 engineers

The Swedish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson confirmed on Tuesday media reports stating that they intend to cut 3,000 jobs in Sweden, specifying that more than half of these will be eliminated in the production, as well as research and development departments. The Swedish company indicates that approximately 1,000 jobs will be cut in production, 800 in the research and development department, and 1,200 in other parts of the business.

They also announced that over the next three years they plan to hire 1,000 workers in the research and development department as part of a “comprehensive transformation” of the business. They clarify that they intend to reduce the number of administrative positions in that department while simultaneously needing new knowledge in the field of new technologies, which is why they will hire around 1,000 engineers in Sweden, primarily from universities.

– We remain strongly focused on research and development, and most Ericsson employees have been working on software development and services for years, rather than in hardware production, emphasized Ericsson’s CEO Jan Frykhammar in a statement.

– We must take measures to ensure Ericsson’s competitiveness in the long term and maintain a leading position in technology and services, added Frykhammar.

Ericsson currently employs about 16,000 workers in Sweden and a total of 116,000 worldwide.

Additionally, the Swedish company announced on Tuesday a “general reduction in costs and elimination of external expenses, primarily through a reduction in the number of consultants in Sweden by 900, but also through a general reduction in business costs.”

Ericsson has recently been facing difficulties, and in July they dismissed CEO Hans Vestberg, who had held the position for seven years. Under his leadership, the company struggled to compete with rivals such as Nokia, Siemens, and Alcatel-Lucent and to expand its market share in saturated markets like those in Europe and North America.