X

Nokia trims R&D staff in Japan

Continuing the realignment of its research & development operation, Nokia is eliminating 220 positions in Japan, or about 1 percent of the company's global R&D staff.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney

Nokia announced Tuesday that it will lay off about 220 employees from its R&D division in Japan, a bit more than 1 percent of the company's worldwide R&D workforce.

The layoffs are part of the company's efforts to align its global research & development operations with new products. Nokia Siemens Networks, the network equipment maker owned by Nokia and Siemens, will not be affected by the reorganization, said Nokia.

Just last week, Nokia said that it will slash 330 positions in total from its R&D units in Finland and Copenhagen as part of the global revamp.

Though Nokia is still the world's leader in smartphone shipments, it has been undercut lately by competition from Apple and Research In Motion. Recent reports have pegged a decline in market share, while Nokia's third-quarter results showed a net loss and lower sales.