Nokia wants 1,000 to quit

Global - Nokia has launched a new restructuring plan with an offer to cut 1,000 jobs globally through voluntary departures on Tuesday.

"As part of its previously announced plans to increase cost efficiency and adapt to the challenging market environment, Nokia today announced new voluntary measures aimed at reducing personnel related costs and lessening the need for involuntary redundancies," Nokia said in a statement.

The Finnish phone manufacturers said the voluntary resignation package will open for application from 1 March 2009 until 1,000 employees have applied and will close 31 May 2009.

Together with a wider use of short-term unpaid leaves and sabbaticals, Nokia has appealed to its employees to accept holiday time as payments, instead of cash, for overtime work this year.

No additional information regarding severance packages for volunteers is currently available.

Hallstein Moerk, head of human resources at Nokia said, "The response from employees and employee representatives in proposing ideas to help reduce personnel related costs has been encouraging. If successful, the voluntary initiatives will lessen the need for involuntary redundancies."

Media sources said Nokia's aims to achieve an annual cost savings of more than 700 million euros (US$890 million dollars) in this latest restructuring plan.

The global voluntary resignation package will not be made available to senior executives at Nokia.