YLE, think of them as the Finnish version of the BBC, has just discovered that on Monday Nokia is planning to announce that they’re going to lay off 2,000 people working at the Salo factory located in Finland. The lay offs will be cyclical, meaning no one person will be laid off for more than 90 days at a time. The factory will simply run with 20% fewer employees. Finnish labor laws, plus the power of the unions, make it difficult to fire people so this is the next best thing at an attempt to reduce operating costs.
“It’s just too bad the news was announced right before the holidays,” said Tapani Kaskinen, Nokia Spokesperson Anne Malm, Chief Shop Steward . You’re damn right it is.
Update: Read the comments below. I’ve mixed up furlough (word never used in US English) and lay off.