Helsinki (15.09.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The sale of Nokia mobile phones to Microsoft came as a shock to Finland. For Finland Nokia is more than just a major company, it is an integral part of the Finnish success story. Nokia was the main vehicle that enabled the country to recover from for the deep recession of the early 1990's.
The success it achieved in the not so recent past was nothing short of remarkable. The knock on effect was that it generated a great deal of faith and trust in Finnish engineering competence as well as giving a boost to national self-confidence.
The news was as confusing for the trade unions as to everyone in Finland. It is difficult and too early to say what will happen with Nokia mobile phone units in Finland. Nokia mobile phones currently employs around 4,700 workers in Finland.
Chairperson Antti Rinne from Trade Union Pro was optimistic. "(This is) A happy moment for Finland, if one can trust the promises of the management", he said. "Nokia will get 5.4 billion euro from the sale, and this will surely make the company business healthier. The price was cheap, though."
Microsoft has promised to keep the existing phone development in Finland and plans to set up a new service and data centre in Northern Finland, and agreed to invest 190 million euro for this purpose. "With these elements it is possible that employment will be better in Finland both in the short-term and long-term."
Rinne also urged Finns to continue to buy Nokia phones "To buy these will maintain the domestic competence of the mobile phone branch in spite of the ownership of the company."
Pertti Porokari, the chairperson of the Union of Professional engineers in Finland (UIL) did not fully share this optimism. "The key issue is whether Finnish competence and competitiveness will weight enough in the future. There were serious concerns as to whether American workers will reap the benefits of job losses in Finland."
"Nokia is the most important Finnish company ever. It is based on a strong foundation of Finnish technological competence, which we must hold on to. To create new Nokias we need to redouble our efforts and continue to invest in education, research and product development."
Trojan Horse?
Mika Paukkeri, shop steward for professional and managerial staff at the Nokia factory in Salo said he has many questions going around in his head, but feels optimistic for the future. "We have to trust that Nokia was bought because of the competence we have in the house."
The employees naturally have some fears, he says. "What changes will an owner located on another continent mean for us?"
Trade Union Pro shop steward at Nokia’s headquarters, Harri Määttänen also sees good sides to the sale. "Nokia can now leave the business causing heavy losses." He also says that there are many rumours going around. One of these is to ask whether Nokia managing director Stephen Elop was a "Trojan Horse" whose real task was to sell Nokia to Microsoft. Elop come to Nokia from Microsoft.
The director of employment and sustainable growth at the trade union federation SAK, Matti Tukiainen is worried about the effects of the sale on employment. He said it is too early to say what will happen, but developments can turn out positive if Microsoft keeps its promise to retain work in Finland and Nokia uses the money from the sale wisely.
"Unfortunately the experiences of workers from the previous deals have not been too positive." Tukiainen also hopes that Nokia will use the money from the sale wisely and not distribute it as dividends to shareholders.
"During the halcyon days of Nokia’s success we gained a lot of competence in Finland, and it is important to build on and invest in this for the future. And the state has a duty to support this effort."
The Minister of Labour, Lauri Ihalainen, says that the Nokia sale will not have an immediate impact on employment in Finland. Ihalainen is the former chairperson of the trade union confederation SAK.
"I believe that the sale of Nokia's mobile phone business may offer positive opportunities in the long term even though it's impossible to predict what will happen going forward. Microsoft has announced that Finland will be the main location of its European operations."
Read also:
Outsourcing redundancy is becoming a business (15.05.2013)