Swedish telco Tele2 is laying off 15 percent of its workforce.

The carrier said the cuts, which will see 600-700 roles made redundant, will take place this year, subject to union negotiations.

Tele2 announced the news as the company confirmed Q4 net profits of SEK3.9 billion ($354.3 million), up 3.5 percent year-on-year, while revenue for the quarter hit SEK 7.8 billion ($708m), up one percent YoY.

For the full year, revenue reached SEK 29.5bn ($2.6bn), up 1.8 percent from the previous year.

However, despite the strong performance, Tele2 has insisted that it needs to cut 600 to 700 jobs this year.

“Tele2 is a global reference for challenger telcos. On top of that, there is an untapped potential in the company, and we must unleash it. We will reduce complexity, reinforce cost discipline, and carefully select investments to focus on those that make a real difference for our customers," said Jean Marc Harion, president and group CEO of Tele2.

Harion, who joined Tele2 as CEO in November, said the layoffs were necessary to make the company more agile.

“Our organization will undergo significant changes during 2025. This will be a challenging time for all our colleagues, especially those directly affected by the reorganization," he added.

Providing an update on its 5G rollout, Tele2 noted that its network now covers 90 percent of the country's population, a figure it expects to increase to 99 percent by the end of the year.

The company also plans to finalize the decommission of its 2G and 3G networks this year.

Beyond Sweden, Tele2 also operates in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The company serves more than 20 million customers across these markets.

Another Swedish carrier, Telia, previously reduced its overall headcount by 3,000 last year, which was again the equivalent of 15 percent.