Nokia Cuts 1,700 Jobs

Nokia is laying off 1,700 workers worldwide — the latest in a string of cutbacks by the mobile phone maker.

Nokia Layoffs

The new round of Nokia layoffs will affect employees within the company’s devices and markets units, corporate development office, and global support functions department, published reports indicate. Nokia blames the current economic climate for the change.

Specific details are expected to be revealed once the affected employees have been notified.

Nokia’s fourth quarter profit saw a 70 percent drop in 2008. The company closed a full research center last month, at the same eliminating another 320 jobs and “temporarily” laying off another 2,500 workers. Nokia has also started a “voluntary resignation program” with which it hopes to cut another thousand jobs.

Nokia has also announced plans to increase unpaid leaves for its roughly 128,000 worldwide employees.