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Ericsson tried on Wednesday that its balance sheet is "solid," but announced the elimination of 5,000 jobs worldwide to anticipate the effects of the crisis and maintain its leadership in the mobile telecommunications sector. One fifth of the layoffs will affect the plant, which is Ericsson in Stockholm, according to a Swedish technology giant.


Ericcson, which at the end of 2008 had a total of 78,750 employees (20,150 of them in Sweden), already eliminated 4,000 jobs last year. With these new layoffs, which cost the company valued between 555 and 650 million euros, Ericsson expects to save 927 million euros in the second half of 2010.


In the last quarter of 2008, net profit of the company fell 30% to almost 375 million euros, while 6130 million turnover, up 23% over the same period in 2007. The president of Ericsson, Carl-Henric Svanberg, denied they are using the current crisis as an excuse to fire workers and thus increase profits, citing the high level of competition in the sector.


"Today, our business has not been nearly affected (by the crisis), but it would be unreasonable to think that might be the case throughout 2009," Svanberg said at a press conference in Stockholm. "Nothing is easy this industry. Every day we must fight to be effective and ensure that we keep the leading position."