Germany pissed off at Nokia, begins a 1000 year ban
By Stefan Constantinescu on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 4:49 AM PST In Nokia
On Tuesday we told you that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was going to close their plant in Germany due to rising labor costs, well today Juergen Ruettgers, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Nokia’s factory is located had a few words to say:
“I am very angry, above all about the way this happened.”
“So far, there is no comprehensible reason why this decision was made.”
“We are not simply going to accept this _ this is not yet the end of the debate.”
“Nokia must think over what it has done here.”
“The German market for cell phones is one of the biggest in the world.”
The harsh words were not the only blow to Nokia, State Economy Minister Christa Thoben is demanding Nokia pay back the 17 million euros worth of subsidies given to open the plant in the first place. Will Finland appease Germany?
UPDATE: That 17 million euro figure has now swelled to 80 million euros!
Aye saw this todays newspaper. It’s still a shame that Nokia decided to do that
This wont come cheap to Nokia same as they would have done this in France.
This is what happens when the government interferes with the free market. First the subsidies, causing fuss later down in the road when it looks as if Nokia was just biding its time. Then later, when artificially inflated wages, deemed to help the workers, causes the company to pack ship and move to cheaper areas.
Sure, maybe they got 90 millions, but how fucking much money have they invested in the plant and in Germany in total??? They’ve been there for 20 years dude!! If they (Bochum) wouldn’t have totally screwed it with the N76, which they were completly responsible of (design, development, quality), from beginning to the end, they might have stayed a bit longer. Dude, you have no idea what they have done and what they have tried to do for Bochum, you don’t have a clue just stick to your Siemens!!! Wake up!
I just read that German unions are calling for a boycott of Nokia.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSL1784161520080117
What do you guys think is better, a few high paying jobs for a few, or better prices for all? I’ll take the latter.
Now you know how I feel when I see BMW’s going down the road in the USA, after they shut down the Ford Plant and I’m looking for work.
@Jack: Ford dugg themselves into a hole, they make a shit product. I fail to see the comparison.
Ok, here we go: Benq closed Siemens. Motorola closed the plant in Flensburg, and Nokia Bochum.
So we can still go with SE or Blackberry
Typical Germans, something happens they don’t like and instead of trying to make things better, they get angry and start bossing everybody around.
Hey Germany, your workers are among the highest paid in Europe. It’s called outsourcing, maybe you’ve heard of it?