Ericsson boss booted after dire results

Swedish telco vendor Ericsson has cut loose its chief executive Hans Vesterberg after mounting pressure from shareholders following a string of bad financial results.

Former Ericsson chief executive Hans Vestberg. Supplied.

Over the last year, the company has seen its share price dive by a third on the back of falling sales as Finnish vendor Nokia and China's Huawei offer up stiff competition in global markets.

Vesterberg is an Ericsson veteran with 28 years of service, the last seven of which were spent as its chief executive.

The company's chief financial offier and executive vice president Jan Frykhammar will take over Vesterberg's position temporarily until a replacement is found. 

Frykhammar, however, has ruled himself out as a new chief executive, Ericsson said.

Due to the poor performance of the company, Ericsson said it would slash several thousands of workers this year from its payroll as part of an $1.5 billion cost-cutting scheme.