Nokia to axe 10,000 jobs

Nokia is to slash 10,000 – or one in five – jobs and sell its luxury mobile phones brand Vertu to EQT Partners in the latest blow to the once-mighty Finnish telecoms company.

The shares crashed 18 per cent to a 16-year low of €1.83 as its chief executive Stephen Elop announced yet another profit warning. Operating margins will sink further into the red, below the minus 3 per cent level reported in the first quarter.

Mr Elop has focused on selling cheaper basic smartphones such as the Lumia but the result has been Nokia continues to lose market share.