Finnish subcontractor Perlos feels abandoned by Nokia

If anyone in Finland actually has more information about this then I would like to know.

The most electrifying moment at the Wage-Earners’ Election Panel organised by Finland’s labour union confederations came when  Pentti Hartikainen, head shop steward at Perlos, asked party leaders to take a stand on "great silenced secret" by commenting on what really is happening in Nokia (NYSE: NOK).

Hartikainen had some good reasons for his demand. He has been involved in a series of co-determination talks on the elimination of a total of 2,400 jobs. The only party leader to make any reference at all at the debate was Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), who said that he would not take part "in speculation concerning a brand". Eero Heinäluoma (SDP), Jyrki Katainen (Nat. Coalition) Matti Korhonen (Left Alliance), Anni Sinnemäki (Green), and Jan Oker-Blom (Swedish People’s Party) did not dignify the question with an answer.

Nokia is an issue that is difficult for Finns to comprehend. No greater economic success has been experienced in this country: in a period of 15 years, a company known by consumers mainly for toilet paper and rubber boots has grown to be the world’s leading electronics company, when measured in terms of customers.

Year after year it has been said that such success cannot continue, and whenever Nokia’s result has taken a dip, the scare has been accompanied by something resembling triumph: "so now it starts going downhill". And yet, in January Nokia showed that it is able to turn the impossible into the possible. Although the average price of its products declined, and although pressure on the margins grew, the company’s gross margin also grew. This means that after manufacturing costs, the company was again left with more money for product development, marketing, and distribution of profits.

However, at the same time, the head shop steward of the Nokia subcontractor Perlos is forced to hold talks on behalf of his fellow employees, which is to result in the closing of Perlos factories in Finland. Hartikainen and 1,200 Perlos employees wear lapel badges reading "come and be our employer".

Nokia’s success and the anguish of its subcontractors raises unpleasant questions. How is it possible to be the most successful in the world, and at the same time to leave thousands of fellow workers to fend for themselves? What is Nokia’s responsibility for its subcontractors?

Source: Helsingin Sanomat

Globalization causes companies to make some tough choices, but I always thought Finnish people were very nationalistic.

Am I wrong?