Nokia reorganizes North American operations
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Finland'sNokia (NOK1V.HE) named a president for its North American operations on Wednesday and said it would move some jobs from Texas to other locations to improve relations with customers.
Nokia is the biggest mobile phone maker on a global basis but has struggled in North America, where it trails Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), the world's No. 2 handset maker.
As part of a reorganization in the region, Nokia said it will move most of its phone sales support operations to its White Plains, New York offices from Irving, Texas and will move sales people to cities where carrier customers are based.
Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong said the relocation of sales and marketing jobs would affect about 50 people and that there was no indication of a material impact from the changes.
The company plans to keep its network equipment business for North America and functions such as customer care and logistics in Irving, Armstrong said.
Mark Louison, now head of Nokia's North American network gear unit, is taking the newly created role of president for North America. He is moving from Atlanta to New York, where Nokia's chief financial officer is also based.
Louison is also becoming head of Nokia's mobile device business for the region.
"It's no secret we've had our struggles in the U.S. market. This is an example of our commitment to improving our position in the North American market," Nokia's Armstrong said.
Nokia shares were up 12 cents or 0.56 percent at $21.57 in afternoon trade on the
New York Stock Exchange, where Motorola shares were up 23 cents or 1.22 percent at $19.07.
ABOUT COSTS OR SALES?
Prudential analyst Inder Singh said the move may be the start of a bigger effort by Nokia to cut costs and also is a sign Nokia is not gaining any ground against Motorola and other rivals in the United States.
"What it says is that (Nokia is) still wrestling with North America. It doesn't look like they've made a lot of progress, so they're cutting costs to gain profitability," Singh said.
"I expect this would be the beginning of something. I don't think it's the end. I would suspect there would be more cost cuts to follow," he added, noting that Nokia may be able to find areas to cut as it merges its network equipment division with that of Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE).
But Ed Snyder, an analyst at Charter Equity, said the reorganization is probably more about efforts to improve Nokia's U.S. sales than to cut costs.
"The savings will not be material to Nokia earnings, but the improvement in efficiencies could help them significantly in growing in the U.S. market," Snyder said .
Louison will take up his new role on April 1, according to Nokia, which said he will take the helm at Nokia's device business on July 1.
Louison is replacing Tim Eckersley as head of device sales in North America. Eckersley will leave the job at the end of June, and Nokia plans to announce his future plans at a later date, the company said. The company said all the changes announced would take place by the end of June.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Finland'sNokia (NOK1V.HE) named a president for its North American operations on Wednesday and said it would move some jobs from Texas to other locations to improve relations with customers.
Nokia is the biggest mobile phone maker on a global basis but has struggled in North America, where it trails Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), the world's No. 2 handset maker.
As part of a reorganization in the region, Nokia said it will move most of its phone sales support operations to its White Plains, New York offices from Irving, Texas and will move sales people to cities where carrier customers are based.
Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong said the relocation of sales and marketing jobs would affect about 50 people and that there was no indication of a material impact from the changes.
The company plans to keep its network equipment business for North America and functions such as customer care and logistics in Irving, Armstrong said.
Mark Louison, now head of Nokia's North American network gear unit, is taking the newly created role of president for North America. He is moving from Atlanta to New York, where Nokia's chief financial officer is also based.
Louison is also becoming head of Nokia's mobile device business for the region.
"It's no secret we've had our struggles in the U.S. market. This is an example of our commitment to improving our position in the North American market," Nokia's Armstrong said.
Nokia shares were up 12 cents or 0.56 percent at $21.57 in afternoon trade on the
New York Stock Exchange, where Motorola shares were up 23 cents or 1.22 percent at $19.07.
ABOUT COSTS OR SALES?
Prudential analyst Inder Singh said the move may be the start of a bigger effort by Nokia to cut costs and also is a sign Nokia is not gaining any ground against Motorola and other rivals in the United States.
"What it says is that (Nokia is) still wrestling with North America. It doesn't look like they've made a lot of progress, so they're cutting costs to gain profitability," Singh said.
"I expect this would be the beginning of something. I don't think it's the end. I would suspect there would be more cost cuts to follow," he added, noting that Nokia may be able to find areas to cut as it merges its network equipment division with that of Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE).
But Ed Snyder, an analyst at Charter Equity, said the reorganization is probably more about efforts to improve Nokia's U.S. sales than to cut costs.
"The savings will not be material to Nokia earnings, but the improvement in efficiencies could help them significantly in growing in the U.S. market," Snyder said .
Louison will take up his new role on April 1, according to Nokia, which said he will take the helm at Nokia's device business on July 1.
Louison is replacing Tim Eckersley as head of device sales in North America. Eckersley will leave the job at the end of June, and Nokia plans to announce his future plans at a later date, the company said. The company said all the changes announced would take place by the end of June.
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