Ericsson and ZTE: 212 direct jobs at risk, raising alarm bells in the telecoms sector

Two global giants in the infrastructure and telecoms services sectors. It is precisely for this reason that the two disputes currently affecting Ericsson and ZTE in Italia have raised alarm levels within the telecoms sector. The final tally stands at 212 jobs at risk in Italia. The Swedish multinational has initiated proceedings for 131 redundancies in Genoa, accounting for around 40 per cent of the workforce at that site. The Chinese firm is planning 81 redundancies out of 177 employees: roughly half.

In Genoa, workers staged a protest outside the Boat Show. ‘Ericsson Italia is sinking’, read one placard. A meeting is scheduled for Monday at the Ministry of Enterprise, and a strike is planned for Wednesday the 7th. “We need respect for Italia and for the work of Italian workers,” commented the Minister for Enterprise, Adolfo Urso. “We cannot allow a major company like Ericsson to leave,” said Marco Bucci, the governor of Liguria. “This dismantling has been going on for years, despite the public funds received,” was the view expressed by the mayor of Genoa, Silvia Salis.

When questioned by *Il Sole 24 Ore*, the Swedish company replied that ‘the decision forms part of the initiatives announced by Ericsson globally at the start of 2026 to improve its cost structure and increase operational efficiency’. Ericsson, however, “will continue discussions with the trade unions” and “reaffirms its commitment to Italia, where it has been operating and investing for over a century. The company will continue to carry out research and development activities in Italia at its sites in Genoa, Pagani and Pisa”.

ZTE is also in no way pulling out of the Italian market, the company is quick to point out: “ZTE reaffirms its commitment to the Italian market and will continue to engage constructively with the trade unions”, specifying that “before reaching this decision, ZTE explored numerous alternative solutions” to “avoid redundancies”.

Of course, the days when announcements of billion-euro investments in the country (when the number of employees was double what it is now) are long gone. Even the innovation and research centre in L’Aquila, announced with great fanfare at the time of the trials with Open Fiber and Wind Tre, has closed. “ZTE’s Innovation and Research Centre has been relocated from L’Aquila to Rome, where its activities will continue,” the company replied. The trade unions, however, fear a different outcome for a “ZTE whose revenues depend largely on contracts with Wind Tre (as well as marginal shares in Zephiro and Open Fiber)”.