Nokia to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide;to shut down Romania factory

Battling tough business conditions, Nokia's latest move would be in addition to restructuring plans unveiled in April, that would affect as many as 7,000 jobs globally.

Nokia today announced reductions in manufacturing, the Location & Commerce business and supporting functions. Among others, these plans would see shutting down of manufacturing facility in Cluj, Romania by the end of this year.

"The planned closure of the Cluj factory combined with adjustments to supply chain operations is estimated to impact approximately 2,200 employees.

"The planned changes in the Location & Commerce business are estimated to impact approximately 1,300 employees," the Finnish handset maker said in a statement.
These job cuts are expected to happen by end of 2012.

"The impact on India post this announcement will be minimal, if at all," a Nokia spokesperson said.

The Finnish entity in April said it would be laying off 4,000 people globally, while 3,000 jobs would be moved to the US major Accenture that would take care of Nokia's Symbian software activities.

"We must take painful, yet necessary, steps to align our workforce and operations with our path forward," Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop said today.

According to the statement, Nokia's high-volume Asian factories provide greater scale and proximity benefits. The Finnish major also has manufacturing facility in India.

The cell phone maker would also review long-term role of its manufacturing operations in Salo, Finland, Komarom, Hungary, and Reynosa, Mexico.

"... it is estimated this would have an impact on the number of personnel in 2012, with no impact in 2011," the statement noted.

The company's Location & Commerce business, offers products and services, including digital mapping content.

"Nokia plans to concentrate its Location & Commerce development efforts in Berlin, Boston, Chicago and other supporting sites, and plans to close its operations in Bonn, Germany and Malvern, US," the statement said.

rtphone market, Nokia posted a loss of 368 million euros for the three months ended June 2011. In the year-ago period, it had a profit of 227 million euros.

"We are seeing solid progress against our strategy, and with these planned changes we will emerge as a more dynamic, nimble and efficient challenger," Elop stressed.