2 May, 2011Nokia announces plans to cut 4,000 jobs over the next two years, mostly in Denmark, Finland and the UK, and move a further 3,000 jobs when outsourcing its Symbian software operations.
GLOBAL: Nokia announced on April 27 that it would reduce its global workforce by 4,000 over the next two years, mostly in Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom, to reduce costs by one billion euro. A further 3,000 jobs will be affected worldwide by a move to outsource its Symbian software operations to Accenture.
The company announced that 700 of the job cuts would be made in the UK, a plan branded as "another dark day for the British economy" by Unite, an IMF affiliate. Unite said that it would take part in a concerted campaign to halt the job losses which will hit Nokia sites in the UK. Unite had commenced an organizing campaign at Nokia sites in the south of the UK and anticipates that its newly recruited members could be transferred to Accenture.
Nokia employs around 2,400 staff in the UK, with main sites in London and Farnborough, Hampshire. Nokia said the jobs would largely go across research and development and in software roles and plans to shut its office in Southwark, London, when the lease expires, with staff at this site expected to transfer to technology-consulting company Accenture under the Symbian outsourcing deal.
"What is very disheartening is that mobile phones and their associated technology are one of the growth areas in the British economy, yet this still does not stop a successful company such as Nokia throwing people out of work," said Tony Burke, Unite Assistant General Secretary.
In Finland, the company announced its plans to cut 1,400 jobs by the end of 2012. Unions affiliated to the IMF with workers in Nokia, that feared the cuts could have been as high as 5,000 in Finland, began negotiations with the company in March. The company has agreed to assist employees made redundant with re-employment and re-education and will look for possibilities to transfer into new jobs with pre-existing terms and conditions.
"It is clear that Nokia has social responsibility to support redundant employees financially with all available instruments," says Pertti Porokari, Chairman of UIL, an IMF affiliate in Finland.
Antti Rinne, Chairman of Pro, another Finnish IMF affiliate, expressed concern about the situation for workers in Nokia's subcontratcors. "It is necessary to clarify how the reorganization influences subcontractors in Finland as soon as possible. For example Ixonos and Digia, - MeeGo and Symbian developers - have already given proposals for commencement of co-operation negotiations," said Rinne.
According to Rinne, Nokia should safeguard for their long-term employees jobs within Nokia, its' subcontractors or affiliates. Employees over 50 are treated with disdain by employers despite of higher education, and are therefore in need of special support.
"The positive side is that a significant number of employees will be offered the possibility to transfer into another company with pre-existing terms and conditions and with their continuous employment preserved. However 1,400 terminations is such a number that active transition assistance programmes are necessary to safeguard their future re-employment," said Heikki Kauppi, Chairman of Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff YTN.