Nokia has announced that it will exit the Russian market in response to the invasion of Ukraine and the full-scale war there Russia is leading. In the last weeks Nokia it has suspended deliveries and halted new business, it said in a statement Tuesday. The company is also moving its research and development activities out of Russia. The decision follows Swedish rival Ericsson AB’s announcement on Monday of an “indefinite” suspension of operations.
Nokia leaves Russia
Nokia has 2,000 employees in the country and has already confirmed that some layoffs will be inevitable, although the company will offer relocation for certain roles that can be filled outside of Russia. This is what a spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.
With the withdrawal, Nokia and Ericsson are handing over the market to Chinese rivals Huawei and ZTE Corp, which have already won major contracts to supply fifth-generation networks to major Russian carriers. Huawei’s failure to condemn President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has obviously sparked controversy.
It has been clear for @Nokia since the early days of the invasion that continuing our presence in Russia would not be possible. We can now announce we will exit the Russian market. https://t.co/ohpLGroF39
– Pekka Lundmark (@PekkaLundmark) April 12, 2022
Nokia said it still aims to provide support for the maintenance of Russian operators’ networks including MTS, Vimpelcom, Megafon and Tele2 as it closes operations in Russia and requires relevant licenses to enable such support in accordance with applicable sanctions.
Nokia plans to book a provision of around 100 million euros in the first quarter. Given “strong demand” in other regions and in Russia which account for less than 2% of last year’s net sales, Nokia said the decision will have no impact on its ability to achieve its economic outlook for 2022.