According to the latest report, Telecom equipment maker Nokia is pulling out of the Russian market, the CEO said, going further than rival Ericsson, which said on Monday it was suspending operations in the country indefinitely.
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“In the current situation, we simply don’t see any possibility of continued growth in the country,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said in an interview. He added that Nokia will continue to support customers during the exit and at this stage, It’s impossible to say how long it will take to quit.
In a statement, Nokia said it was in the process of applying for the relevant licenses to support customers in complying with the current sanctions. Both Nokia and Ericsson have a small market share in Russia.
Moreover, Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE have a larger share in Russia. Nokia did not expect the decision to affect its 2022 outlook but said it would result in a provision of around 100 million euros in the first quarter.
Furthermore, Russia has also been pushing companies to start building networks using only Russian equipment, seeking to persuade Nokia and Ericsson to set up factories in the country.
Lundmark said Nokia would not implement plans announced in November to form a joint venture with Russia’s YADRO to build 4G and 5G telecom base stations. He also said that Nokia’s decision to leave Russia will affect about 2,000 workers, some of whom may get jobs elsewhere in the world.
Nokia has about 90,000 employees worldwide. Lundmark also said: “There have to be a lot of changes before you can think about doing business in the country again”.
