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Germany pissed off at Nokia, begins a 1000 year ban

Categories: Nokia
By: , IntoMobile
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 4:49 AM

180px-juergen_ruettgers.jpgOn Tuesday we told you that Nokia 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!

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • Topy

    Aye saw this todays newspaper. It’s still a shame that Nokia decided to do that :sad: This wont come cheap to Nokia same as they would have done this in France.

  • Gregory

    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.

  • A

    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!

  • Jack

    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.

  • Stefan Constantinescu

    @Jack: Ford dugg themselves into a hole, they make a shit product. I fail to see the comparison.

  • lutzs

    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 :lol:

  • Transylvanian

    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?