Nokia (NYSE: NOK) plans to eliminate 1,700 jobs globally, as the world’s largest handset maker tries to adapt to the economic downturn and falling consumer demand for its phones, the company announced today. The cuts will hit its handset unit, as well as its marketing division, its corporate development office and global support functions. Up to 700 jobs could be lost in Finland, according to Reuters.

The cuts come as no surprise. In January, the handset giant said planned to cut costs in its phone division by more than €700 to stay competitive in the market. It also cut its forecast for handset sales, the third time in three months. In February, Nokia said it was phasing out its research and development site in Jyväskylä, Finland, and said it would scale back production at its Salo-based plant, responsible for turning out its high-end handsets. Nokia forecast that handset sales would drop 10 percent this year. In the fourth quarter, Nokia’s sales dropped 15 percent compared to a year ago.

Robert adds: Cuts will be made to jobs including those in the UK and US, a spokesperson told ZDNet: “The UK and the US have both been named as countries in which we have a considerable number of staff. There will be redundancies in both countries.” Nokia has 3,200 workers at Farnborough, Bristol and London. It already announced the loss of 30 from its ad sales team here in February.

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