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Nokia to pay German state ???1.3 million to settle Bochum dispute
Germany wanted $6.2 million in research subsidies back from Nokia, and in addition to the "tens of millions" that the company has already relinquished after the highly-disputed Bochum plant closing, it'll be coughing up another €1.3 million ($2.04 million) to hopefully close the door on the matter. Said payment will be addressed to North Rhine-Westphalia, which was quite angry after the handset maker decided to hack 2,300 jobs from Germany and relocate operations to Romania for "lower labor costs." The sum here is in addition to the €20 million "Growth for Bochum" foundation that the outfit started, but apparently that show of goodwill didn't really change the hearts of those already bitter.[Via PhoneScoop, image courtesy of Reuters]
RIM snatching up employees offed from Nokia's Bochum facility?
Never mind Nokia's arguments that Bochum is too expensive of a location to make phones, because RIM wholeheartedly disagrees. Sort of, anyway. Although there's no indication that the Canadian firm is going to start producing handsets in the downtrodden German town, it apparently did see Nokia's move as a fabulous opportunity to hire on a whole boatload of fresh talent and has decided to open an R&D facility there. It seems that RIM had already been shopping around Europe for a place to set up camp, and the Bochum layoffs came at just the right time to catch its attention. A Nokia board member says that RIM is indeed in Bochum, but is "talking to engineers, not workers," whatever that means; we thought engineers were workers, but this probably simply confirms that RIM's facility won't be a factory.[Via IntoMobile]
Nokia settles with German unions for $314M
Nokia's decision to close that factory in Bochum, Germany and move its operations to a cheaper site in Romania might lower costs in the long run, but for now things seem decidedly in red: Nokia and the German unions who represented the 2,000 laid-off workers at the plant have agreed to a €200M ($314M) settlement, which will probably end the demonstrations and calls for boycotts that have been going on. Of course, that's on top of the $92M (plus another $6.2M) the German government wants back in grants and tax breaks for subsidizing the plant, but what's another hundred mil between friends?[Via Textually.org; image courtesy of Reuters]
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]
German state after $92 million in subsidies, interest from Nokia
Looks as if Nokia's going to be using a portion of that gigantic profit it raked in during Q4 to appease NRW.Bank -- unless a meeting it hopes to establish within the next few days changes matters, that is. Apparently, a German state has "asked" the handset maker to hand back government-issued subsidies (with interest, no less) that it received to build a cellphone factory in Bochum which it now plans to close. In sum, Nokia's looking at a tab of $92 million, as the folks in the industrial Ruhr region are none too pleased about what will likely result in the loss of some 2,300 jobs. Purportedly, the cash is due by March 31st, and if Nokia refuses to comply, the bank has stated that it will "take legal action to secure payment." Them's fightin' words there.
Germany: Give us back our $60.5 million, Nokia
The German state of North-Rhine Westphalia wants its €41.3 million (about $60.5 million) back. The reason? Germany wants the corporate subsidies given to Nokia back in 1998 and 1999 for its plant in Bochum. The very plant Nokia is about to shut down at the cost of some 2,300 German jobs. Nokia responded to Germany's demand saying that it is "astonished" and "Based on the facts available to the company and Deutsche Bank, its advisor throughout the entire period, both parties feel strongly that such an attempt is without merit." Of course, Nokia won't hurt too badly if forced to pay out. Nokia's new Romanian plant is expected to cost just a tenth of the Bochum plant to operate. Nokia also posted a staggering $2.6 billion in profit from the last quarter alone. The German authorities know a cash cow when they see it. Read -- Reuters' takeRead -- Nokia response in full
Nokia boycott urged by German unions
So apparently, that whole "plan to shut down a Bochum Nokia plant" didn't exactly sail over everyone's heads, particularly not in Germany. Reports are now flowing out that unions in the nation are taking it upon themselves to urge consumers not to purchase wares from the firm, with Dietmar Muscheid, regional head of the Confederation of German Unions (DGB), being one of the most vocal. Muscheid went on to state that "whoever buys a cellphone today should think about the choice they are making and what catastrophic consequences the company's actions in Bochum will have for thousands of workers." 'Course, the EU has already proclaimed that Nokia won't be getting a dime in relocation (to Romania, supposedly) aid, but unspecified government officials are reportedly lined up to speak with suits from the handset maker later this week to "discuss the plant's future." Whether or not all this commotion will actually change any minds, however, remains to be seen.
