Finnish telecom equipment giant Nokia announced on Thursday that it would slash up to 14,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive following a sharp decline in the company’s third-quarter earnings.

The huge layoffs come after Nokia reported third-quarter net sales declined 20 per cent year-on-year to 4.98 billion euros, while the company’s profit fell by a whopping 69 per cent year-on-year to 133 million euros as sales of 5G equipment slowed in major markets such as the US. 

Nokia, which currently has 86,000 employees on its rolls, plans to bring the headcount down to between 72,000 and 77,000.