Ericsson plans on cutting approximately 130 jobs in Republic of Ireland as part of its global restructuring programme, “to ensure a competitive business model aimed at securing long-term growth”.

In a statement the company said it remains committed to R&D in the country and will continue to employ around 1,200 people in Athlone and Dublin.

It added: “Ericsson regrets the impact of today’s announcement on our employees and will be providing a comprehensive support programme to affected employees.”

In July it was reported Ericsson would make redundancies and reduce its real estate footprint as part of a new SEK10 billion ($1.2 billion) round of cuts, announced after the company revealed it remained in the red during Q2 following a 164 per cent year-on-year drop in net income.

In August the figure of lay offs outside of Sweden was said to be 25,000 as the vendor faces serious competition from Huawei and Nokia, as well as falling sales in many countries.

Ericsson cut 7,000 jobs in the past year, most of them in North America. In December, it said it was cutting 59 jobs in Dublin.

However, it is ramping up in certain areas: yesterday (5 October) it announced plans to recruit for a new 5G design centre in Austin, Texas.

For more details on Ericsson’s strategy check out our recent interview with new CTO Erik Ekudden.