RSSNokia's factory move from Germany to Romania hits more snags
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published January 28, 2008, 3:32 PM
After a high-level meeting today, Nokia has agreed to serve on a joint task force to review its decision to close a cell phone plant in Bochum, Germany. Meanwhile, Nokia's cheaper facility under construction in Romania is in trouble.
With Finnish-based Nokia reaching somewhat of a surprise agreement today to work with German officials on a joint task force, the high-tech vendor's plans to move cell phone production from Bochum, Germany to the more economical Romania have meanwhile been running into construction snags.
Nokia officials have kept arguing that the facility in Bochum is too costly, although the shutdown plans has spurred resistance from Germans ranging from street demonstrations to demands for the return of the equivalent of hundreds of millions of US dollars in subsidies.
But after meeting with Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo on Monday, officials of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia issued a written statement that they are now setting up a joint task force with Nokia to explore "innovative solutions."
Meanwhile, Nokia is trying to sell another line of business in Bochum, involving personalized cell mobile solutions for cars, to Sasken Technologies, with the help of the private investment fund Equity Partners GmbH and the former manager of Nokia's automative mobile division, Razban Olosu.
Yet the Romanian edition of HotNews suggests that workers in Nokia's automotive division are much better off than Nokia's cell phone manufacturing workers, who will lose their source of income if Nokia's cell phone plant picks up stakes.
Instead, Nokia's automotive unit have been reportedly promised that they can transfer to new positions with their new employer.
At the same time, the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Samonat reported today that the construction of Nokia's new factory in Romania is being hampered by a variety of delays.
For one thing, the German construction company Golbeck has felt the need to replace Romanian concrete works with Hungarian, Slovakian, and Polish workers, because the skills of the Romanians "proved insufficient," according to the Finnish publication.
Then, a number of Hungarian workers apparently left the construction site in the Transylvania region of Romania for the weekend, because supposedly, no water could be found there for concrete casting.
And to top it off .... vampires! I wonder if they are embedding garlic in the concrete walls ... just in case :P
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|hahahahah this is a good one
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|never mind the very 19th century NOKIA SITE and suroundings. this will be a true failure for NOKIA in ROMANIA . they should be very aware about unqulified workers, illiterate, bad roads, corruption and theft on a masive scale. most of the year CLUJ airport is closed . shipping will be very difficult and burocratic.
BUT NOKIA SHOULD EXPERIENCE FOR THEMSELFS HOW IS TO SURVIVE IN A BACKWARD COUNTRY
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|there are qualified workers, though Nokia won't need for it's production line engineers, do they? they road infrastructure your are right about that, a highway is in construction nearby Cluj, but that will take a while, and there are negotiations between Nokia and the local authorities for the construction of a new airport where the fog wouldn't be a problem, anyhow not most of the year. corruption somewhat true, can be lived with that, and you need security like everywhere else.
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|have you ever been there or you are just talking?
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|- the skills of the Romanians "proved insufficient - this is just a stupid idea of the Finnish publication. They need low level workers and probably don't pay enough for real skilled Romanians
- Hungarians didn't find water? Probably just because THEY devastated long time in history that territories :))
100% management problems...
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|jeez, what skill do you have to have to keep the hose for pouring concrete? But to find water, yes, it requires a LOT of skills :P
Stupid finnish management?
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|I can buy the argument about the insufficient skilled force. Keep in mind that pretty much everyone that works in construction and is worth a lick left abroad for more lucrative opportunities in Spain, Italy, Israel, etc. I bet they won't be bothered to come back and work for the peanuts Nokia's offering.
Globalization works both ways...
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