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Ericsson profit falls, to slash 6,500 staff

By siliconindia news bureau

 

Monday,25 January 2010, 15:49 hrs

 

 

Stockholm: Following the fall in its net profit by 92 percent in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, Swedish telecom major Ericsson plans to cut 6,500 jobs.The company reported a net profit of 314 million kronor (30.7 million euro, 43.4 million dollars) between October and December compared to 3.89 billion kronors in the same period in 2008. The profit margin was worse than expected as analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a net profit of 3.23 billion kronors.

According to the sources, previously the company had planned to lay off 5,00 jobs under a cost-cutting plan that was launched in January 2009, but now the company decided to slash 6,500 people. At the end of 2009, Ericsson had around 83,000 staff.For 2010, the company plans to focus on solid margins, strong cash conversion and outgrowing the market