cutting programme announced after Nokia acquired rival Alcatel-Lucent of France in January. Half of the job cuts affect the city of Espoo where Nokia has its headquarters, according to a company statement. The laid-off employees will be offered financial support and help finding new jobs or setting up their own businesses. The Finnish government has also said it will help. Nokia's focus is on providing broadband infrastructure software and services after it sold its handset business to Microsoft in 2014 after losing its top position in the smartphone market to Apple and companies using Google's Android operating system.
