All those people fired from Nokia in the last couple of years present a great opportunity for other companies. Perhaps that’s why Huawei announced that it will invest 70 million EUR over a five-year period to establish an R&D center in Helsinki, Finland.
The facility will initially focus on software development for smartphones, tablets and rich-media devices, optimizing the user experience of existing operating systems such as Android and Windows Phone 8. From the outset, the company plans to recruit 30 employees, with the goal of hiring more than 100 people over five years.
According to Kenneth Fredriksen, Vice-President, Huawei Central, Eastern and Nordic Europe – Finland is an ideal place for Huawei to strengthen its global R&D capabilities for devices, “creating opportunities for both Huawei and the Finnish telecommunications industry.” Told you they want former Nokia employees…
Huawei’s previous investment in Europe was in September 2012 when they announced a $2 billion investment in R&D, local procurement and center of excellence initiatives in the United Kingdom. The company currently employs more than 7,000 people across the continent.