Nokia’s plans to cut 600 jobs in France have been suspended until an early October meeting between French ministers, the company’s management and unions.

Reporting comments from the country’s junior economy minister Benjamin Griveaux, Reuters revealed the suspension of job losses, which are part of a wider €1.2 billion cost-cutting exercise currently underway at the network vendor.

The matter will be discussed during a meeting on 2 October, where the company will also be quizzed about a pledge to hire 500 people in its research and development division in France, dating from its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent in 2016.

In early September, Reuters reported Nokia planned to cut its workforce in France by the end of 2019 with reductions in its Alcatel-Lucent International and Nokia Solutions Networks France business. Its plan excluded R&D units.

Nokia’s networks business continued to struggle in the first part of this year with sales decreasing five per cent year on year in Q2. Speaking during the company’s latest investor call, CEO Rajeev Suri said its network business was expected to “perform in line with the market,” which is widely expected to continue to deteriorate.

In March, Nokia announced it was splitting its network operation into two distinct units to “meet changing customer demands”, achieve its planned cost savings and drive growth in the unit.