Nokia to axe 700 UK jobs in global cull

Mobile phone giant Nokia is axing about 700 UK jobs as part of plans to reduce its global workforce by 4,000 within two years.

The Finnish group said yesterday the jobs would go by the end of 2012 as it looks to slash costs by €1 billion (886 million).

A further 3,000 jobs will be affected worldwide by a move to outsource its Symbian software operations to Accenture, although the group said it was too early to give details of how many UK jobs would be involved.

The news comes a week after the world's biggest mobile phone maker revealed its market share slipped below 30 per cent for the first time in a decade as it lost out to Apple's iPhone.

Nokia president and chief executive Stephen Elop is hoping to revive the group's fortunes by using Microsoft's Windows mobile software in future smartphones - a deal that was also unveiled last week.

He said Nokia was focused on leadership in smart devices and mobile phones. The firm said the jobs would largely go across research and development and in software roles.

It plans to shut its office in Southwark, London, when the lease expires, with staff at the site transferring to technology-consulting company Accenture under the Symbian outsourcing deal, expected to complete towards the end of the year.

The group said it did not expect the jobs cull to start until the beginning of next year.

Nokia employs more than 65,000 staff globally, including 2,400 in the UK.