Nokia likely to sack several executives

The world's biggest cellphone maker Nokia is likely to sack several executive board members in a management shake-up, a German weekly reported.

As rival companies have been eating into Nokia's market share, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop, who took over last September, is due to unveil a revamp of the company's strategy, which could include organisational changes, on February 11.

Citing company sources, German weekly Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday that Mary T McDowell, the executive in charge of Nokia's mobile phones unit, may have to leave the company along with Niklas Savander, the manager of the markets unit.

Chief Development Officer Kai Oistamo may have to go, too, as may Tero Ojanpera, the manager responsible for services and mobile solutions, the weekly reported.

Elop has ordered headhunters to look for top people with good software expertise, the report said.

A Nokia spokesman declined to comment.

Elop has been widely expected to make big changes to the top management team. So far, only one former leader, Anssi Vanjoki, has left the company.

Nokia has been left in the shade by high-end competitors such as Apple and Google and is now also suffering a drop in sales of its stronghold of traditional phones as Chinese manufacturers muscle in to take advantage of the growing market.