NSN dismisses CEO rumors as "complete rubbish"
More uncertainty dogs the joint venture after reports that Siemens was looking to replace CEO Rajeev Suri
Published: 7 February, 2012
READ MORE: People/Management | Germany | Nokia Siemens Networks | Infrastructure
Nokia Siemens denied rumors that it was seeking a new CEO, with Nokia spokespeople dismissing reports as "complete rubbish". Nonetheless, the speculation is bound to increase the climate of nervousness surrounding the joint venture as it goes through its massive restructuring program.
The Reuters news agency had reported that a member of Siemens' supervisory board, Sibylle Wenkel, who represents the IG Metall trade union for the German giant, had said that Siemens' finance director, Joe Kaeser, was conducting an executive search to replace NSN's current CEO Rajeev Suri.
Suri was appointed in 2009, bringing a strong background in carrier services, one of the key elements of NSN's recovery program - and one of the areas where it has seen growth during its difficult life as a joint venture.
He recently unveiled a new cost reduction initiative, which will cost 17,000 jobs and also involve the sale or closure of many non-core business units. WiMAX, microwave backhaul and other divisions have already been offloaded and last week, it emerged that the JV's home countries would be hardest hit by the redundancies. About 2,900 jobs are expected to go in Germany and 1,200 in Finland, as these countries struggle with their high labor costs compared to those in China and other engineering hothouses. Some speculated that this may have prompted the comments from IG Metall, whose members have been protesting the layoffs in Germany.
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