Finnish telecoms group Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs to save costs

Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia said it plans to slash up to 10,000 jobs as part of its plans to reduce costs over the next two years.

Tuesday's announcement would see Nokia's workforce drop from roughly 90,000 employees at present to around 80,000 to 85,000, a statement read.

"Decisions that may have a potential impact on our employees are never taken lightly," chief executive Pekka Lundmark said.

The company also planned to increase investments in research and development.

Huawei, Ericsson

Nokia said it expected to make savings of about 600 million euros (715 million dollars), while charges for the cost-saving programme would be about 700 million euros. Half of the restructuring charges would be taken this year.

Nokia faces stiff competition from rivals like China's Huawei and Sweden's Ericsson.

After selling its loss-making handset business in 2014 to US software giant Microsoft, the Finnish company has said it would focus on providing broadband infrastructure software and services.