The media learned about the departure of Ericsson from Russia before the end of the year

MOSCOW, 29 Aug — PRIME. Ericsson, a well-known Swedish manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, will close its representative office in Russia by the end of the year and lay off all employees, Kommersant newspaper reports, citing sources in the telecommunications market.

Ericsson’s parent company notified the Russian division on August 22 that it would be closing before the end of the year, and that all employees, including those who provide technical support for equipment in telecom operator networks, would be fired, sources told the newspaper. The company confirmed to the publication that in the coming months the company will gradually curtail its activities in Russia, promising “financial and social” support to employees.

Ericsson Corporation JSC was established in 1994. The publication clarifies that at the end of last year, its revenue amounted to almost 5 billion rubles with a net profit of 533 million. The company has 565 employees. And the share of Ericsson in the Russian market of telecommunication equipment is about 20%.

Ericsson worked in the Russian Federation with the largest telecom operators in the Russian Federation. After the start of the military operation in Ukraine and the imposition of international sanctions, the largest companies, including Nokia and Ericsson, announced the cessation of supplies to the Russian Federation. At the moment, the only major vendor that has not announced its withdrawal from Russia and the closure of its representative office is the Chinese Huawei, the publication notes.

At first, operators will use previously purchased spare kits, but they are not unlimited, they say in Rostec. The termination of technical support concerning the software of base stations and other equipment of Ericsson can appear the most critical, added in state corporations.

However, a top manager of a major equipment manufacturer told the newspaper that Ericsson could separate the support service into an independent legal entity, the founders of which would be management. This version was confirmed by the source of the publication in one of the operators. “On the other hand, the operators had enough time to learn how to operate networks without technical support from Ericcson,” says one of the interlocutors. But problems can arise if the operator does not have spare parts for base stations, because it is no longer possible to obtain them from Ericsson under warranty.