Nokia pays out Eur200m to axed German workers
09 April 2008
Nokia pays out Eur200m to axed German workers
Finnish handset giant Nokia has agreed a Eur200m package for the 2,300 workers to be axed from its device manufacturing plant in Bochum, Germany.
On Tuesday, the vendor announced that it had reached a satisfactory agreement with Bochum employee representatives, including the establishment of a transfer company designed to find new jobs for affected staff.
The package calls for Bochum to be shut down by June 30, after which Nokia will move its manufacturing operations to a cheaper European base in Romania.
Nokia reached the agreement following a political backlash over the decision and threats of a product boycott in Germany.
"We achieved our goal, which was to reach a satisfactory agreement for our members that is in line with the best German agreements," said Gisela Achenbach, head of the Bochum works council. "Furthermore, additional payments will take into account the specific situation of families and severely disabled persons."
Although production at Bochum will end in June, Nokia will maintain a presence in the North Rhine-Westphalia region with a major sales and marketing unit in Dusseldorf and a devices R&D team in Ulm. Map maker Navteq, which Nokia recently moved to acquire also has personnel in Frankfurt and it is understood that Nokia intends to redeploy around 300 Bochum staff among its other German operations.
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