Nokia has been experiencing a downturn for awhile now, and amid a slew of losses, has had to make some tough decisions about how it will turn itself around.
Nokia announced that it will reduce staff by up to 10,000 people before the end of 2013 as part of a plan to refocus its marketing efforts. The company will also be closing factories in Finland, Germany and Canada, streamlining support staff, reducing “non-core” assets, and dropping three executives — including chief marketing officer Jerri Devard, executive VP of mobile phones Mary McDowell and executive VP of markets Niklas Savander — who will step down from the company’s Leadership Team effective June 30th. Replacing them July 1st are executive VP of mobile phones Timo Toikkanen, executive VP of sales and marketing Chris Weber and senior VP of communications Susan Sheehan.
Nokia has also sold the luxury brand Vertu to private equity group EQT VI in a deal that is expected to close during the second half of the year leaving just 10 percent of it in Nokia’s hands. Investments going forward including extending its mapping technology to “multiple industries” and pushing more Series 30 and Series 40 devices.
In addition, after working with the Swedish firm Scalado for years, Nokia has decided to take its partnership with Scalado to the next level and acquire the Swedish company. Nokia plans to use Scalado’s technology to enhance “imaging experiences for Nokia Lumia devices.” While it’s acquiring the imaging company’s developers, technologies and IP portfolio, it’s not buying the company outright due to remaining obligations with HTC and RIM.
Here’s hoping Nokia is successful in their turnaround. Thanks in part to gains in Windows Phone market share lately, the company appears to be (slowly) headed in the right direction.