Ericsson Announces Crisis Committee
APRIL 23, 2001
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Mobile phone technology leader LM Ericsson
confirmed Monday it has created a crisis committee of top officials to oversee its
restructuring efforts as it struggles to regain profitability.
The committee consists of company Chairman Lars Ramqvist and board
members, as well as prominent Swedish business leaders Eckhard Pfeiffer,
Sverker Martin-Loof and Goeran Lindahl, spokeswoman Aase Lindskog said. They
will offer expertise to a separate task force charged with implementing the
restructuring, she said.
Ericsson, the world leader in providing equipment for mobile phone systems, has
frozen hiring and plans to slash more than 15,000 jobs after its profits declined
partly because of a global economic slowdown and an ailing handset division.
The Stockholm-based company also is divesting itself of other holdings and
transferring its mobile phone production to Singapore-based Flextronics
International, while keeping control of research and development.
Ericsson posted a pretax loss of 4.9 billion kronor (dlrs 500 million) for the three
months ending March 31, excluding a 5.5 billion kronor (dlrs 567 million) gain
from the sale of shares in Jupiter Networks Inc. |
