Telecoms giant Nokia has said it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs by the end of 2026 in a bid to sharply reduce costs.

Nokia, which has a UK office in Reading, has not disclosed where the staff cuts will be made.

The office at Arlington Business Park, Theale, could see a drastic number of staff reductions. 

The Finnish technology firm said the move is part of efforts to save up to 1.2 billion euros (£1.04 billion) over the three-year period.

It will reduce its workforce from the current 86,000 to between 72,000 and 77,000.

The announcement came as the business also reported that sales slumped by a fifth over the quarter to September.

The company had hoped the recent introduction of 5G networks would boost trading.

But on Thursday it blamed a slowdown in demand for the technology in some markets, such as North America.

It comes after Swedish rival Ericsson, which has also launched a recent restructuring move, revealed its own sales slump last week.

Nokia president and chief executive Pekka Lundmark said: “We have immensely talented employees at Nokia and we will support everyone that is affected by this process.

“Resetting the cost base is a necessary step to adjust to market uncertainty and to secure our long-term profitability and competitiveness.

“We remain confident about opportunities ahead of us.”