Ericsson, the tech giant that has recently revamped its IP video platforms for service provider partners, said it will be cutting 2,200 jobs in Sweden, primarily in R&D and supply, as part of a cost-cutting program announced in November 2014.
The program, slated to run through 2017 on a global basis, is targeting structural improvements to R&D, service delivery and supply as the company pursues its primary areas of radio, core and transmission and telecom services. Ericsson also hopes the moves will create more efficiencies in sales, G&A, enable it to cut external costs tied to use of consultants, and push the consolidation of its IT portfolio. Ericsson said the moves aim to cut annual costs by SEK 9 billion (US$1.1 billion) by 2017.
Ericsson employs about 115,000 people in 180 countries.
Ericsson recently added multiscreen capabilities and other upgrades to its Mediaroom platform, which Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in 2013, as well as MediaFirst, a new cloud-based, “software-defined” product for traditional pay-TV providers and new over-the-top players. Among recent wins, Windstream will tap Ericsson’s Mediaroom platform for “Kinetic,” a next-gen TV service that will initially be offered to more than 50,000 homes in Lincoln, Neb., in the first half of 2015.
