Nokia to lay off 2,000 people at their Salo factory in Finland

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.

• Hary

  Dear Stefan,

  It seems that you have decided to spread as much negative info as possible about Nokia by hook or crook.
  If you read the YLE link properly that you have provided in your post above, anyone can easily say that the statement “Its just too bad news……” was not by Nokia Spokesperson, but by shop steward Anne Malm. Below is the excerpt for your reference.

  “Plant employees have been prepared for the cutbacks, according to chief shop steward Anne Malm.
  “It’s just too bad the news was announced right before the holidays,” she says.”

  Regarding layoffs, its a furlough and not outright kind of layoff. In any case i wouldn’t call laying off as firing(unlike in above post). I think there is a difference between layoff and firing someone. Also here, if they are going to operate at 20% fewer employees with everyone staying out for 3 months, it means that they have not singled out any employees as their preferred layoff target, which is actually a furlough more than a traditional layoff.

• Mike Maddaloni – The Hot Iron

  The news story mixes the words “layoff” and “furlough” like they are the same, but at least in the US they are different, where here a layoff means you are fired and a furlough means you are still an employee, but are forced to take time off.

  Is it a furlough or a layoff, in US-speak?

  mp/m

• Dennis

  Nokia has a habit of ruining its loyal staff members Christmas’s. They did the exact same thing last year.

  Fantastic way to repay years of loyalty and hard work….

• karhu

  @mike – by american terms (known to be raping english language since 200 years)
  its furlough. Theyre forced off work for 90 days – this pretty obvious to those whom
  focus on context of an article, instead of terminology.
  This is a finnish news agency – you can be happy they bother to translate it for you at all.

  To my knowledge, there isnt a single american news broadcaster who translates its news
  to finnish, and additional to that aim to have professors Q.Aing their use of terms.

  best regards from the snow land.

• Rauha

  It’s furlough. Max of 90 lost working days per year for an employee and guarantees that no one will be layd off. According to finnish law they are entitled full unemployment benefits during the lost working days.

  Stefan also leaves out that it’s actually good news for the workers since in 2009 30% of workforce was in furlough, so the work situation improves in 2010. Altough that’s propably because the english Yle news stories are short and the improvement in furlough situation is only metioned in the original, lenghtier, finnish article.

• Stefan Constantinescu

  thanks for spotting my typo regarding Anne Malm.

• Stefan Constantinescu

  It’s a furlough.

• Stefan Constantinescu

  Never heard about the 30% furlough in 2009.