Blog 4: Nokia to Cut 4,000 Jobs at 3 Factories

On Wednesday Nokia, the biggest maker of mobile phones by volume, said that it would eliminate 4,000 manufacturing jobs, or 7 percent of its global work force, as it moved to streamline operations and save money from its production of smart phones. The company said the cuts would be made at three Nokia factories — in Komarom, Hungary; Reynosa, Mexico; and Salo, Finland — as it transferred the assembly of smart phones to factories in Asia, which are closer to component makers.

Nokia, which is based in Espoo, Finland, said it planned to cut 2,300 of 4,400 jobs at its Hungarian factory, 700 of 1,000 in Mexico and 1,000 of 1,700 in Salo, its largest production facility in Finland. Niklas Savander, the Nokia executive vice president responsible for smart phones said “Shifting device assembly to Asia is targeted at improving our time to market,” “By working more closely with our suppliers, we believe that we will be able to introduce innovations into the market more quickly and ultimately be more competitive.”

Many times Americans feel like they are the only ones being affected by this troubled economy, but from reading this article, it is clearly happening all over the world. Eliminating 4000 jobs is something a company never wants to do, but with all the steep competition with mobile phones these days and the terrible economic situation they aren’t left with many options. If cutting jobs and moving the factories closer to suppliers is what is best for the company, then this is the step that Nokia is going to have to take if they want to continue the success they have had. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/09/technology/nokia-to-cut-4000-jobs-at-3-factories.html?_r=1&ref=technology