Germany wants $6.2 million in research subsidies back from Nokia

As if being on the hook for $92 million wasn't enough, Nokia is now being chased down for what looks to be another €4 million or so, which comes out to just over $6.2 million. This time, the German government is "demanding" that Nokia repay said amount in research subsidies now that it is closing its factory in Bochum. Reportedly, the German Research Ministry gifted the cellphone maker with €4 million in order to "fund four separate research projects dealing primarily with new antennae and wireless transmission technology," and now it's asking Nokia to "explain by early April which patent filings resulted from the projects and which German production or research sites benefited from the results of the projects." So much for basking in the glory of Q4, eh?

[Via IntoMobile, image courtesy of Reuters]

[Pdexter @ Mar 17th 2008 8:27AM]

Btw it's 6.24 million not billion CNN focked up.
http://www.intomobile.com/2008/03/17/correction-germany-asks-nokia-for-624-million-not-billion-for-research-subsidies.html#respond

[Iain @ Mar 17th 2008 8:30AM]

Even ignoring that, how does ~€4 billion + €92 million = €6.2 billion?
That's crappy maths however you look at it.

[sirsilencedogood @ Mar 17th 2008 8:33AM]

Ummm... Re-read the article: the $92 Million was USD and the $6.4 billion was U.S. too.

[sirsilencedogood @ Mar 17th 2008 8:34AM]

6.2 sorry

[Iain @ Mar 17th 2008 9:39AM]

Sorry, you're right, I mis-typed.

But my point still stands, the maths used in the article before it was corrected was awful.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 17th 2008 8:26AM]

A lawsuit that is meticulously engineered and utterly refined.

[insane.uk @ Mar 17th 2008 9:13AM]

Is it just me or does the only thing that all this does is make every industry not want to open offices in Germany? Surely its extremely bad publicity for the country.

[LJKelley @ Mar 17th 2008 9:41AM]

Nokia or any other company is free to come and go. This has to do with Subsidies and weither Nokia broke the terms of them. I guess you would want Germany (or any other country) to not enforce the terms and companies can just do what they want.

[Johannes @ Mar 17th 2008 10:07AM]

Although I'm German, I strongly believe in as open a free market economy as possible. On the other hand I believe our Government has a point in inquiring as to what exactly is its return on made investments. In a way it's their duty, after all those are my taxes at work. Trade-off between said obligations and keeping Germany an interesting location for foreign investment is a thin line to tread indeed... We'll see how it pans out I guess.

[zip @ Mar 17th 2008 10:09AM]

It's funny how the Nokia-boycotting Germans conveniently forget that in 1999 Japanese-German Fujitsu-Siemens decided to shut down a profitable factory in Kilo, Finland.

450 people lost their jobs in Kilo. 2000 people are losing their jobs in Bochum.

Finland has 5 million inhabitants, Germany 82 million. The Kilo area was hit much harder. Unlikely in Germany, Finnish factory workers do not get 12 months pay or whatever when they get the boot.

[Pdexter @ Mar 17th 2008 11:52AM]

Hehe i didnt want to go there ;) Nokia's Salo factory here in Finland is way more profitable than Bochum. So they could have fixed that first.
Thought to be fair i think Nokia would have gone anyways.

[maxoriano @ Mar 17th 2008 10:17AM]

Actually, the Land of Rheinland-Westfalia is claiming 41mio € plus interests. Around 60mio € = ~93mio $. This is one thing and it's not new.
The "new news" is, now also the Federal Office for Research is claiming another 4mio €.
It's all in millions, though, not billions.

Did you know that Telekom Germany has removed all the Nokia phones from its sales program? And yes, if you go to the webpage you'll still see some Nokia cellulars being offered, which is what's left of the stock. No latest models, and once the stock is sold, Nokia is out.

Maybe, doubtfully but hopefully, someone will start pushing against this sort of wild "free trade" aka globalization...

[L @ Mar 17th 2008 10:24AM]

T-Mobile Germany did NOT remove all Nokia handsets from their line-up, and they didn't remove the others because they're showing solidarity to the people losing their jobs, but because they're afraid that Nokia's Ovi's services render their own plans in that area obsolete...

Get your facts straight next time...

[sam @ Mar 17th 2008 10:48AM]

i guess german government wants nokia to shutdown the bochum research center as well. that way the germans can buy their mobile solutions 100% made-in-asia.

[Ellianth @ Mar 17th 2008 11:21AM]

I'll tell you what Nokia didn't spend that money on...

That lock on the front gates. That thing looks ANCIENT!

[Ed @ Mar 17th 2008 11:47AM]

After this, why would any company want to build a major facility in germany? You leave and you get sued. WTF?

[Marcus @ Mar 17th 2008 12:14PM]

I think many writers have here a false impression or knowledge about the situation in Germany, Bochum.

The big and bad point from Nokia is, only to take the subsidies in many million EUR, which they had agreed to generate the jobs. And now they close the factory without accomplish the claimed jobs! Right now they get in Hungary or wherevever in East-Europe subsidies again to finance their new factory.

1 Millionen Euro == 1 million EUR in the USA
1 Milliarde EUR == 1 billion EUR in the USA

For our american math profs:
mille (miglio) from Italy in the dark age == 1000

;)


The USA have here false money notations taken... like in many things.

[zagito @ Mar 17th 2008 1:26PM]

dear german friends...
don't say that the others do things wrong, there are a lot of unsense in the german language... so fly down please.
Back to the topic.
Nokia generated the jobs. The refund query from Germany is only there to gain money, not really for the people. If the world shpuld do the same thing with german factories, there will be no buy-power from germany. Benq.-Siemens, do you remember? Or, what was the name of the German Tire factory closing in Austria?

[Marcus @ Mar 17th 2008 2:18PM]

When do you understand that Nokia has NOT generate enough or the stipulated jobs from my large taxes? Nokia has only taken the money.... not more in this moment. Period!

[Pro7 @ Mar 17th 2008 1:54PM]

Nokia is really behaving like a dumb blond in this case, showing potential investors that they are gonna get their asses kicked if they DO BUSINESS BY LAW, as nokia didn't break any laws.
The average german nokia employee costs 1000 EUR.
That's 10x more than the average employee costs them in Bulgaria or Romania.
Only an idiot manufacturer would stay in Germany.
BTW nokia did the same in Hungary and nobody cared...

[zagito @ Mar 17th 2008 6:08PM]

..again...that's business... so works the world... it's clearly the story :" No, no You bad guy (Nokia), You will hear from me!". Even every part will pull good things to itself:
Nokia: we achived more than xxx workers directly employees and outsourcing!
Germany: no, we count only the directly employees (and not the ones, that have been worked as outsourcing).
So come on, don't you see that this is just hunger for the money? Outsourcing is service and service is job and job was in Bochum... so, any other questions?
I should ask for refund for all those thing made in germany that didn't work.

[Johannes @ Mar 18th 2008 5:50AM]

@ zagito: If you are Italian, your remark regarding refund 'for all those thing made in germany that didn't work' truly cracks me up... :D Check out bubblefish for FIAT aka Fehler In Allen Teilen and you'll know what I mean. WOP.

[Gored Bushed @ Mar 23rd 2008 12:39AM]

Serves them right, the fools do not think ogg vorbis or theora is good enough for the web as open-source formats. Why the hell would they care, I have no idea. The basters sell phones.