Nokia has announced planned changes at its factories in Komarom, Hungary, Reynosa, Mexico and Salo, Finland. The measures follow a review of smartphone manufacturing operations that Nokia announced last September and aim to increase the company’s competitiveness in the diverse global mobile device market.
Thousands of personnel reductions are planned to be phased through to the end of 2012. As a consequence of the plans, the number of steps in manufacturing and the amount of work carried out at the sites are expected to decrease substantially. The changes are anticipated to impact approximately 4,000 employees in total.
The three factories are planned to focus on smartphone product customisation, serving customers mainly in Europe and the Americas. Device assembly is expected to be transferred to Nokia factories in Asia, where the majority of component suppliers are based.
'With the planned changes, our factories at Komarom, Reynosa and Salo will continue to play an important role serving our smartphone customers. They give us a unique ability to both provide customization and be more responsive to customer needs,' said Niklas Savander, Nokia executive vice president, markets.
'Shifting device assembly to Asia is targeted at improving our time to market. By working more closely with our suppliers, we believe that we will be able to introduce innovations into the market more quickly and ultimately be more competitive,' continued Savander. 'We recognise the planned changes are difficult for our employees and we are committed to supporting our personnel and their local communities during the transition.'
