Nokia restructure: passes Symbian OS to Accenture; confirms job cuts

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Nokia said it will outsource its Symbian software activities to Accenture, with around 3,000 staff transferring to the management consultancy, as part of the Finnish company’s restructure following its wide-ranging partnership with Microsoft. Nokia also announced that it will cut an additional 4,000 positions by the end of 2012, with the majority coming from its operations in Denmark, Finland and the UK.

As part of its restructure, the company intends to consolidate its research and product development sites, so that each has a “clear role and mission” – which will lead to the expansion of some sites, and the contraction and closure of others. As previously revealed, all employees affected by the plans can stay on the Nokia payroll to the end of 2011, with the cuts to occur in stages during 2012. Nokia currently has around 65,000 staff worldwide, not including those working for Nokia Siemens Networks. In line with its legal requirements, Nokia will today begin talks with employee representatives about its plans.

The Accenture deal, which is subject to a final agreement, will see the company providing Nokia with Symbian-based software development and support services, as the vendor transitions its smartphone line to use Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. In a statement, Nokia said that “over time, Accenture and Nokia will seek opportunities to retrain and redeploy transitioned employees.” The two companies already have a Symbian OS relationship, since 2009.

Separately, Phone Scoop reports that Nokia is undertaking a “massive reorganisational approach” to its Navteq navigation business, to focus on areas such as social location applications, services and developer tools that “engage a large user base to build a winning brand and ecosystem together with Microsoft”; high value location content; and a high-value ad network built on location services. 

It was reported that from 1 May 2011, Tero Ojanpera, EVP and acting head of services and developer experience for Nokia, and Larry Kaplan, Navteq’s CEO, will work on “the creation of a new business unit that consolidates all Nokia location assets, including Navteq and Nokia social-location services, into a single organization.”