Nokia's major purge

This is Nokia's biggest restructuring ever. Photo: Lehtikuva .

Nokia is undergoing its most drastic restructuring in years. According to a report from the Economic Times , the company plans to cut approximately 20% of its global workforce – equivalent to about 14,000 job eliminations. This move will bring the company's workforce down to around 72,000-75,000 people.

The main reason behind this drastic decision is the slowdown in the global 5G equipment market. In key markets such as India, Nokia's revenue has seen a significant decline. Specifically, in the last quarter of 2025, the company's net revenue in the country decreased by as much as 15% compared to the same period the previous year.

The tightening of spending by telecommunications network operators has forced Nokia to find ways to optimize its operations. The company aims to save up to 1.2 billion euros (approximately $1.38 billion ) by the end of 2026. This is seen as a "painful" but necessary step to maintain profit margins in a volatile economic environment.

Accompanying the large-scale layoffs are significant leadership changes, particularly in South Asia. Effective April 1st, Vibha Mehra will officially assume the role of Country Manager for India. Meanwhile, Samar Mittal will lead the enterprise business, focusing on cloud and artificial intelligence solutions.

In early February, the legendary Nokia N8 was unexpectedly "resurrected" thanks to a software update developed by fans. Photo: N8 Reborn.

This shift shows that Nokia isn't simply cutting staff to save money. They are trying to eliminate overlapping positions that arose after previous mergers in order to build a leaner, more flexible organization.

Despite significant cuts in traditional telecommunications, Nokia is quietly investing in future technologies. The acquisition of the US optical network company Infinera for $2.3 billion is the clearest evidence of this strategy. The company is shifting its focus from purely mobile infrastructure to data center and optical network solutions to support the AI boom.

Analysts believe that the decline in the mobile network segment is being partially offset by the growth of the optical network segment. The demand for broadband and AI data processing is opening new doors for Nokia, although this transition is fraught with challenges.

"We are taking decisive action to align costs with market conditions while protecting our ability to invest in research and development," the company's report stated.

This major restructuring marks a new chapter for Nokia. From a company focused on telecommunications hardware, it is striving to transform itself into a technology entity focused on software and high-end data infrastructure.