Job cuts as Nokia assembly moves to Asia

Struggling phone maker Nokia yesterday announced plans to cut 4,000 more jobs as it looks to slash costs by moving smartphone assembly work to Asia.

The move – equivalent to 8 per cent of the phone business workforce – means the group has axed some 30,000 staff since Stephen Elop took over as chief executive in September 2010.

He is trying to restructure the business after Nokia lost market share in the crucial smartphone market to rivals such as Apple, HTC and Samsung.

Last month, Nokia reported a 73 per cent fall in quarterly profit as sales of its new Windows Phones failed to match hopes.

The latest cuts will affect plants in Finland, Hungary and Mexico and will be phased through the year.

The group said it would cut 2,300 jobs in Hungary – where it is a major exporter – some 1,000 in Finland and 700 in Mexico. The move comes just months after Nokia closed its plant in Romania, laying off 2,200 people there.

Its Finnish factory, in Salo, which was the cornerstone for its success in the 1990s, has been the last remaining major phone assembly plant in western Europe for some time. Most rivals have moved their production to Asia.

Elop, a former Microsoft executive, has turned to his old employer to help turn around Nokia’s fortunes, producing a smartphone that runs on Windows software. It has sold one million Windows Lumia phones since the model was launched in November.