Nokia Siemens offloads workers to IBM

Nokia Siemens Networks has inked a deal with IBM Corp. to sell multiple business units in research and development and service core and applications to the company. The sale will see up to 235 employees transferred to IBM once the transaction closes, which is expected to take place by early December.
While the businesses will no longer be under Nokia Siemens Networks’ umbrella, the company has entered into a partnership with IBM to continue receiving development activities back from the larger teams at IBM. The two companies will collaborate on program management, product management, architecture, technical support and system-level testing.
Nokia Siemens Networks has been transferring its research and development capabilities to other businesses as part of its overall strategy. Indeed, the company just last month announced a deal to offload a development center in Herentals, Belgium to Devoteam Group, a move that included 160 employees.
“In order to ensure our world-leading technology capabilities and optimum synergies across the business lines, we have decided to strengthen our (research and development) activities by creating a cost efficient (research and development) structure. This move provides Nokia Siemens Networks with the flexibility it needs to successfully compete in the market,” said Jurgen Walter, head of Service Core and Applications at Nokia Siemens Networks.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.