Ericsson to axe 8,500 employees worldwide

Ericsson will lay off 8,500 staff worldwide as it becomes the latest tech firm to slash its headcount.

The Swedish business said most of the cuts will take place in the next few months.

The cull, representing about 8 per cent of staff, follows moves by the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and Google, which have all made substantial job cuts in recent months.

Ericsson is one of the biggest service providers to the UK’s 4G and 5G networks and has laid out plans to cut £720m in costs by the end of 2023. Last month, it reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. 

Chief executive Borje Ekholm said: ‘We see a potential to simplify and become more efficient throughout the company, especially when it comes to structural costs.’

Ericsson has about 1,400 staff in the UK, according to recent filings, meaning more than 100 could lose their jobs. 

Data tracker site Layoffs.fyi estimates that 110,000 tech staff have been laid off so far this year globally, adding to the 161,061 sacked in 2022.