Nokia top management meet with Bochum employees

CEO Kallasvuo attends meeting in Helsinki

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The management of Nokia held a meeting on Monday with representatives of the Bochum mobile phone factory that the company plans to close.
     Taking part in the unofficial meeting was President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Representing the factory workers was head shop steward Giesela Achenbach.
     
Nokia confirmed on Monday evening that such a meeting had taken place. However, it would not give details on the content of the discussions.
     The company said that both Nokia itself and the employers' side made initiatives at the meting.
     The German trade union IG Metall said that it had invited itself to meet with Kallasvuo.
     
Nokia and Kallasvuo have been targets of sharp criticism since plans to shut down the plant in Bochum were made public a week ago.
     The move could lead to the loss of 2,300 jobs at the factory itself, and as many as 2,000 at companies that are dependent on Nokia.
     The German tabloid Bild last week labelled Kallasvuo a "job destroyer" who does not know the ethical rules of his own company.
     The purpose of Monday's unofficial meeting was to lay the groundwork for discussions on what kind of severance compensation the workers would get.
     Apparently the Germans at the meeting were satisfied with the discussions. They were left with the impression that the Nokia management had given detailed responses to the questions that were put to them.
     
A big surprise was that the delegation was invited to return to Finland next week.
     The company said that Kallasvuo himself may visit Germany.
     Under established practice in Germany, Nokia is required to have to pay significant monetary compensation to those who are to be let go. Arja Suominen, Nokia's head of communications, emphasised that Nokia follows the labour laws of each country. However, she would not speculate on the amount of the compensation that would be paid out.
     
Nokia and its German workers also have a special "social package" that was signed two years ago.
     "It is the foundation for the negotiations that will soon be held", Suominen says.
     Severance arrangements in Germany are generally very generous.
     When the car maker Mercedes implemented a restructuring programme last autumn that will lead to the loss of 9,700 jobs over two and a half years, the company paid each worker who was leaving two months' pay in addition to a bonus. In some cases, the total compensation exceeded EUR 20,000.
     
In addition to money, corporate social packages in Germany also involve measures to find new jobs for those made redundant.
     "In principle, we will try to find a new job for as many as possible in other companies in the region", said Klaus Goll, director of Nokia's German operations in an interview with Bild.
     A demonstration is to be held in Bochum on Tuesday to protest the redundancies. Up to 20,000 people are expected to attend.
     Companies that have provided temporary workers for Nokia have already announced the first redundancies, which will take effect this month. The factory itself is scheduled to shut down in the summer.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Nokia shutting down plant in Germany, moving manufacture to Romania (16.1.2008)
  Anger at Nokia swells in Germany; top politicians join fray over plant closure (21.1.2008)
  Anti-Nokia opinions gathering momentum in Germany (18.1.2008)
  German politicians angered by Nokia factory closure (17.1.2008)

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