Ericsson, a Swedish telecoms equipment maker, is expected to announce at least 6,000 new job losses this week as it steps up its drive to cut costs in the face of slower market growth.
The cuts, to be presented alongside the group's first-quarter results on Friday, will add to a wave of recent job losses among telecoms equipment makers.
They mean Ericsson staff numbers could fall by about 15,000 this year to 90,000 - 15 per cent of its workforce after taking account of previously announced job cuts and outsourcing arrangements. The firm's Irish operations - in which 2,500 people are employed in Dublin and Athlone - have already been hit by a recruitment freeze announced last month and concerns have been raised over the fate of a €224 million (£176.4 million) expansion plan for Cork last October.
Mr Kurt Hellstrom, chief executive, has written to employees warning that further job cuts are on the way.
The cuts are expected to hit the group's operations inside and outside Sweden, and to centre on marketing, administration, research and development and information technology. Almost half the firm's Irish workforce is involved in R&D. The group has already indicated it wants to save 20 billion krona (€2.2 billion) a year.
