Microsoft confirms elimination of Nokia's Salo phone unit, up to 2,300 jobs

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2016
Microsoft on Friday announced the closure of Nokia's former cellphone development unit in Salo, Finland, along with plans to cut up to 2,300 jobs in the country, part of a broader plan to refocus the company and make it more profitable.









Two sites in Espoo and Tampere will stay active, Reuters reported. The decision is nevertheless another blow to Finland, which once depended on an independent Nokia as a central driver of its economy. Microsoft bought Nokia's mobile phone division for $9 billion in 2013, but by that point Nokia had already ceded much of its power in the cellphone industry to companies like Apple and Samsung.



In July, Microsoft revealed that it would take a $7.6 billion write-down for Nokia and lay off up to 7,800 people worldwide, most of them workers linked with Nokia's phone business.



The month prior, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop -- sometimes blamed for the company's misfortunes and takeover -- exited Microsoft himself as the tech giant unified its OS and device divisions under a new leader.



Some 18,000 Microsoft workers were laid off in 2013, many of them in Nokia factory jobs.



Microsoft had intended to use Nokia as a springboard for popularizing Windows Phone, but the platform and associated devices failed to catch on in most countries. The company is hoping to revive its phone efforts with the help of things like Windows 10, easy porting of iOS and Android apps, and first-party devices that may copy Google's Nexus strategy. Google doesn't generate high revenues from its Nexus phones and tablets -- instead, the devices serve as a template for what Android products can be, and offer "pure" experiences without carrier or vendor bloat.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    9 Billion?!!!

    and people are bi***ing about the Beats deal!???
  • Reply 2 of 33
    Thanks, Ballmer!
  • Reply 3 of 33
    I've been forced to use a MS/Nokia Window phone for the last few months. It doesn't even come close to my iPhone or even (cringe) an Android telephone...
  • Reply 4 of 33
    Thanks, Ballmer!
    I think you mean "Thanks Obama!"
  • Reply 5 of 33
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    Wow.
    And so unexpected.
    MS should read AHOLE
  • Reply 6 of 33
    Salo, or the 120 Days of Severance
  • Reply 7 of 33

    This seems to be a mixture of NIH plus 'slash and burn'.

     

    From my experience of working in Finland (as well as the US), the finns have a very laid back approach to life. This would jar with many americans when they came visiting from Head Office. Still they did very good work but we never followed the 'must be seen at our desk at all times' rule which seems to be the norm in the USA.

  • Reply 8 of 33
    cali wrote: »
    9 Billion?!!!

    and people are bi***ing about the Beats deal!???

    Puts it in perspective I guess. Beats is profitable, at least the hardware side. Seems the MS CEO is trying to undo a lot of wrongs done by the previous administration. Hate to see people lose their jobs though. The little guys always pay for the mistakes of top management while the guys at the top make out all right even in failure.
  • Reply 9 of 33
    I think you mean "Thanks Obama!"

    Thanks, Oballmer?
  • Reply 10 of 33
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    Nokia may sell more Android phones than MS next year.
  • Reply 11 of 33
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member

    And so ends the consummate destruction of a formerly great company from incompetence within.  I hope Stephen Elop is happy in his retirement.  What a dickbag.

  • Reply 12 of 33
    misamisa Posts: 827member
    This seems to be a mixture of NIH plus 'slash and burn'.

    From my experience of working in Finland (as well as the US), the finns have a very laid back approach to life. This would jar with many americans when they came visiting from Head Office. Still they did very good work but we never followed the 'must be seen at our desk at all times' rule which seems to be the norm in the USA.

    American Business drive to "push productivity" even at the expense of their employees health is a super-gross problem that really needs push-back. Unfortunately you can't pushback against the corporate overlord. Everyone who worked for Nokia should have seen this happening and should have demanded their government either nationalize/buy-it-back from Microsoft, but I think it's far too late now.

    Then you have countries like Greece and France which actively chase business investment out of their countries because they can't even hit reasonable productivity targets. Jobs keep getting sent to Asia entirely because they have "higher productivity" (also known as government turns the other cheek to human rights abuses.) When what really should be happening is these countries should be forming their own trade unions before ever accepting American investment.
  • Reply 13 of 33
    rconercone Posts: 18member



    Good riddance. 

  • Reply 14 of 33
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member

    I feel bad for the people who worked for Nokia, Finland does not have a whole lot and MS sent in Elop in to prepare for the take over and they totally distroy what was left. Besides a Motorola Cell phone Nokia was the next best thing from the stand point of it working well as a phone forget about all the stupid bells and whisle most company were trying to jam into a phone at the time.

  • Reply 16 of 33

    Salo, or the 120 Days of Severence

  • Reply 17 of 33
    Bij choice I have been using a Windows Phone, a Nokia (my wife is using my iPhone 6) with Windows 10 preview. And I put Windows 10 on my Mac Mini via Bootcamp. The phone and ecosystem needs work, but it could be a lot worse. And the looks and feels are great. I slowly start believing in Windows again.
  • Reply 18 of 33
    indyfxindyfx Posts: 321member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by K2kW View Post



    Nokia may sell more Android phones than MS next year.



    Yeah... well, if they sell more than a couple dozen, then yes. ;-)

     

    /is

  • Reply 19 of 33
    cali wrote: »
    9 Billion?!!!

    and people are bi***ing about the Beats deal!???

    Because tech snobs love Nokia, but hate crappy headphones from Dr. Thug. /s
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