Ericsson refuses to rule out overseas job cuts

Swedish telecoms major Ericsson has refused to rule out job cuts in the UK, where one of its plants is in Glasgow, as it embarks on a cost-cutting drive that may put thousands of staff at risk.

Ericsson operates in 11 locations in the UK that also include Guildford, Leeds, Southampton and Chiswick in west London.

“Ericsson has not communicated which specific units or countries that could be affected,” the group said.

“It is too early to talk about specific measures or exclude any country. As Ericsson executes these plans to save costs, the company will communicate this, and to what extent employees could be affected.”

The company issued the statement in response to a report by daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, which said the company may slash 25,000 jobs outside Sweden. Ericsson said the move would mainly affect “service delivery and common costs”, but not research and development.