Ericsson is joining the list of tech companies laying off staff, with CEO Borje Ekholm saying 8,500 employees will be laid off.

The tech sector has been especially hard-hit by the economic downturn, with companies large and small laying off workers. Ericsson is the latest to announce job cuts, according to Reuters, with Ekholm sending a memo to employees to inform them of the company’s plans.

“The way headcount reductions will be managed will differ depending on local country practice,” Ekholm wrote in the memo.

“In several countries the headcount reductions have already been communicated this week,” he said.

Ericsson did not specify which regions would be most impacted, but analysts have predicted that North America would likely be one of the hardest hit.

Ekholm said the layoffs were necessary to help the company remain competitive.

“It is our obligation to take this cost out to remain competitive,” Ekholm said in the memo. “Our biggest enemy right now may be complacency.”