Ericsson creates Latam South unit

Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson has decided to create a Southern Cone business unit, bringing together operations in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

Eduardo Ricotta (in photo), who has led Ericsson's Brazil operations since June 2017, will take on the presidency of the new unit, called Ericsson Latam South.

Ericsson Latam South would have 5,000 employees and more than 30 clients, according to a statement.

In 2016, Ericsson implemented a new business unit structure and leadership team aimed at improving performance, adapting to customer requirements and driving cost reductions and efficiencies.

At the time, Latin America announced its own version of that structure concentrating on three areas: network products, network services and IT and the cloud.

Ericsson has been struggling against tough competition from the likes of China's Huawei. The company has slashed 18,000 jobs as part of a drive to reduce costs and opex in the face of weaker sales.

When taking over the Brazil position 18 months ago, Ricotta was charged with reorganizing the local operation, and boosting Ericsson's participation in network virtualization, access, IoT and digital platforms as well as preparing the way for 5G. The idea is to replicate that focus in other countries in the Latam South unit.

In 2012, Ericsson installed multimedia and ICT development centers at the tech park hub in São José dos Campos city and in Indaiatuba, both in Brazil's São Paulo state, focused on developing "connected society" solutions for transport and security, leveraging cloud computing, broadband and mobility.

The center in São José dos Campos is one of four worldwide.

Speaking to BNamericas last year, Ricotta said Brazil has been leading Ericsson's drive in terms of network expansion in Latin America and has been helped by the local factories.

The company has also piloted 5G networks, launched digital transformation projects and started to develop cloud initiatives.