Ericsson could be preparing to lay-off some 25,000 employees outside Sweden as part of its savings programme following another disappointing quarter, according to a report in Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet.

Ericsson said in July2017 that it would accelerate measures to meet a target of doubling its 2016 underlying operating margin of 6 per cent and that it aimed to reach an annual cost reduction run rate of at least $1.2 billion by mid-2018. Ericsson has said actions will be taken primarily in service delivery and common costs while research and development would be largely unaffected.

Svenska Dagbladet said it was not clear whether the planned layoffs included employees within its media operations, which are up for strategic review and seen by analysts as likely to be sold by the group.

Responding to the report. Ericsson said in a statement on its website: “Ericsson has not communicated which specific units or countries could be affected. It is too early to talk about specific measures or exclude any country.”

In the past 12 months, Ericsson has cut 7,000 jobs, most of them in North America. The company currently has 109,000 employees.

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