HELSINKI: Microsoft Finland’s headquarters in Espoo on Wednesday. Microsoft on Wednesday announced to cut 7800 jobs
In its latest move to downsize mobile phone operations in Finland, Microsoft will dismiss 2,300 employees in the Nordic country, news agency Xinhua reported quoting Finnish media.
Microsoft is pulling out completely from the southwestern Finnish town of Salo, which was the birthplace of the boom of Finnish mobile phone industry in 1990s. While the operation in Salo will be shut down, the unit in Espoo near Helsinki will concentrate on high end phones, applications and design. Medium priced phones would be designed in Tampere, central Finland. A unit for low end mobile phones would continue in Beijing, China, with reduced manpower.
The latest cutbacks will reduce the total number of Microsoft employees in Finland by about two thirds from the present level of 3,200 persons. The US-based software giant bought the mobile business from Nokia for 5.4 billion euros in 2013. The job cuts in Finland is part of Microsoft world-wide cost saving measures and the company will lay off up to 7,800 employees mainly from its phone business and related operations, reported news agency STT.
Under Finnish law, dismissals can only be implemented after talks with the personnel.
