Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said today it was reorganising to focus on its top five global customers, and appointed a chief operating officer to manage its efficiency plan.
Ericsson, the world's biggest producer of mobile networks and fourth biggest handset supplier, said that from October 1st it would create five global customer units to take care of Vodafone, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and TIM.
It would also merge its Latin America and North America market areas into one unit, make Europe, Middle East and Africa the second and Asia Pacific the third - reducing the number of market areas to three from five.
Ericsson spokesman Kr Roland Klein did not say if the move would entail job cuts as the new units would create openings for people employed in the previous ones, or what the financial impact on the company would be.
Nevertheless, analysts believed the scheme would end in some job cuts.
"We think they will take this opportunity to reduce jobs further. We think they are aiming at cutting staff to 75,000-80,000 globally," one analyst said.
Ericsson has already announced job cuts of up to 22,000 people - or one fifth of the workforce - in an effort to return to profitability amid slowing demand in the sector.
Ericsson will also reorganise its current business units from September 1st.
The loss-making consumer products division, which makes mobile phones, will disappear from the structure as it forms a joint venture with Japan's Sony Corp from October 1st.
Ericsson's main money earner, the Mobile Systems division, would be split into Mobile Systems WCDMA and GSM, and Mobile Systems CDMA.
Ericsson will also consolidate some 100 smaller market units into larger entities before the end of the year.
"We are reducing overheads by consolidating the 100 units into substantially fewer," Mr Klein said. "We are removing a complete layer of management on the divisional level." He added.