Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) today finalized a plan that will see 1000 of its employees in Finland lose their jobs. The announcement comes as Nokia’s future seems on shaky ground. The layoffs had been expected as the company has dealt with a rough year as it attempts to find its way in an evolving mobile ecosystem it increasingly seems left behind in. The cuts mean the Jobs in the Finnish plant will move to Asia where lower costs mean their products will be able to maintain greater competitiveness. The company’s shares were down just over 1% today at time of writing.
Nokia has faced many challenges in recent years as it tries to fit itself into the new world of mobile devices. The company made its name building some of the best product in the early mobile phone market, the Nokia 3210 a familiar sight to all, but has failed to continue what should have been its advantage into the new era. The company began offering smartphones offering its own Symbian OS which proved a disaster when faced with competition with Android and iOS devices. That operating system along with the unpopular Ovi App store have since been left in the past as Nokia aims to impress in the future.
The strategy Nokia is taking is one of reinvention. The Finnish company is doing its best to move its manufacturing base from its home to East Asian economies where much lower manufacturing costs provide a boos t to most other device manufacturers. The company has also aligned itself with Microsoft and that company’s project to become more relevant in Mobile computing. The company is bringing its flagship Window Phone, the Lumia 900, to the United States later this year and hopes to be able to compete with a third option in the mobile device market. They tried and failed befor with Symbian, but Microsoft’s credentials may see the company be much more successful this time around. The release of Windows 8 later this year could provide an added boost t o the ailing compay’s fortunes.
Nokia released a projection that it hopes to break even this year disappointing shareholders. The company’s turnaround beginning with the cutting of its manufacturing cost will be hoped to reform the company and give it a new breath of life in its aim to compete once again at the top of the mobile world.
