According to Ericsson, the limp telecoms market lacks any sign of recovery, which could lead to continued cutbacks from the telecommunication equipment vendor.
Speaking at the Ericsson`s strategy and technology summit in London, Kurt Hellstr"om, president and CEO, said the company`s path to profitability could "affect" another 10 000 employees by the end of the year, in addition to the 10 400 employees that have already been touched by the changes last quarter.
"Our efficiency programme is proceeding according to plan. We will take further actions if this becomes necessary to get back to profitability," Hellstr"om said.
"Our market environment has become even more uncertain, and that we can`t control, but we can control our costs, and our action programmes are in place."
Hellstr"om says the company intends to continue with its technology push, specifically with its 2.5G and 3G cellular technology on both consumer and operator level.
Through its Engine products, it offers an upgrade path from 2G (typically but not exclusively GSM) to GPRS or CDMA2000 1X, and finally to 3G (EDGE, WCDMA and CDMA2000 1XEV) technologies.
Ericsson believes WCDMA will account for 80% of the third-generation cellular market, and CDMA2000 will pick up the remaining 20%.
The company wants to offer an end-to-end communication strategy, but says it is also committed to open standards. The Ericsson Mobility World programme is designed to work with partners on standards, which it believes will increase competition for itself but also help accelerate the market.
"We are keeping with our belief in technology," says Hellstr"om. "We`re aiming to be first out of this when the industry turns up again, and we will be a stronger and fitter company."
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