In a Thursday disclosure, Finnish handset-maker Nokia said that it intends cutting nearly 19 percent of its workforce - that is, slashing almost 10,000 jobs - by the end of next year; and closing down three of its facilities.

Nokia specified that as many as 3,700 of the planned layoffs will take place in Finland; with the company's decision to close down the operations at its handset factory in Salo, Finland, to affect nearly 850 employees.

According to Nokia, the planned job-cuts to be undertaken by the company are a part of its emergency revamp which will include a number of strategic moves --- like the shuttering down of research and development centers in Ulm, Germany, and Burnaby, Canada; the closure of the Salo unit; and the departure of three of the company's senior executives.

Nokia said that the moves aimed at streamlining the company will help bring about a saving of approximately _1.6 billion by the end of 2013.

About the job-cut move planned by Nokia, the company's CEO Stephen Elop said that the reductions are "a difficult consequence" of the actions which the company believes it should take, in an attempt to ensure that it remains competitive in the long run.

Noting that Nokia does not make plans which "may impact our employees lightly," Elop said: "As a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities."