Ouch: Nokia to cut another 3,500 jobs

Nokia plans to drastically reduce its workforce by another 3,500 positions, the company announced today.

The slashed jobs will be added to the 4,000 jobs Nokia already announced it would cut in April. At that time, Nokia said it would cut 4,000 positions by the end of 2012 and transfer 3,000 jobs to Accenture.

Nokia is in the midst of a major transformation led by CEO Stephen Elop in which the company is significantly cutting operations and switching its phones to run Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 OS. The company has lost a lot of ground in the past few years, transitioning from being the largest mobile phone maker in the world to a stagnant manufacturer that hasn’t embraced innovation like Apple, Samsung and HTC.

“We are seeing solid progress against our strategy, and with these planned changes we will emerge as a more dynamic, nimble and efficient challenger,” said Elop in a statement. “We must take painful, yet necessary, steps to align our workforce and operations with our path forward.”

The new job cuts will come from closing a factory in Romania and from the company’s supply chain operations, which accounts for 2,200 employees. It will also cut 1,300 jobs from its commerce and location businesses.

Do you think Nokia has a chance to recover lost ground by slimming down its company and embracing Windows Phone 7?