Nokia closes Salo handset manufacturing plant
updated 03:12 pm EDT, Fri July 27, 2012
Nokia last Finnish plant closes, puts 780 employees out of work
Nokia will close its last main cellphone manufacturing plan in Western Europe. The Salo plant, located in western Finland, will shutter its doors in September, and the plant turned out its last handset on Wednesday. The factory employs about 780 workers.
The move doesn't came as part of a surprise, as it is part of a larger restructuring the phone giant announced back in June. It calls for laying off 3,700 employees in Finland and 10,000 worldwide. More recently, the company said it would put an end to its Meltemi platform project.
Nokia plans to launch support programs for the employees who have lost their jobs as a result of the closure. The plan, which also calls for closing R&D centers in Canada and Germany, is expected to save the company about $2 billion by the end of 2013.
