Telecom gear maker Ericsson to lay off 1,400 employees in Sweden

The company had earlier announced plans to cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($880 million) by the end of 2023 as demand slows in some markets, including North America.

Further job cuts, numbering several thousands in other countries, are likely to be announced in the coming days, said two sources close to the matter.

Ericsson last made deep cuts in 2017 when it laid off thousands of employees and focused on research to pull the company out of losses.

The company was negotiating with its employee union in Sweden for months on how to handle cost cuts.

Agreement has now been reached with Swedish unions on how to manage headcount reductions, a spokesperson said, adding that the company intends to make the cuts through a voluntary programme.

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Global layoffsAfter the pandemic boom of a few years, technology companies ended 2022 with a bleak outlook. Across the sector thousands of jobs were cut to correct the over-hiring of the Covid period, and brace for, what experts call, a period of slower growth for the sector.

The layoff wave has swept not only startups and mid-sized firms, but also big tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google parent Alphabet, among others.

So far, 312 tech companies have laid off 97,020 employees in 2023, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi.

Also read | Layoffs in 2023: Twitter, LinkedIn among latest firms to cut jobs amid economic downturn

India layoffs

Indian startups, too, have been impacted over the last six months as they struggle to raise funds in a tough global environment.

We reported on December 30 that fund-starved startups fired nearly 18,000 in 2022, according to data compiled by executive search firm Longhouse Consulting that was shared exclusively with ET.

According to data from Tracxn, the subdued startup fundraising activity continued in the first month of the new year with Indian startups raising $1.18 billion in January, down 75% compared to the same period last year. January saw 122 funding rounds compared to 331 rounds during the same period last year.

Also read | Layoffs in 2023: a list of Indian startups & tech companies that have cut jobs