The company’s goal is to merge its factories in Lahti and Hollola. Talks with personnel on the implementation of the job cuts are to begin next week.
Foxconn regularly employs about 600 people in Finland. The company also has production facilities in Hungary.
The company says that the move was prompted by a need to improve efficiency and competitiveness.
Deputy CEO Timo Harju says that Foxconn is changing its business activities to meet the needs of the times. According to Harju, Finland does not have enough of a market for cheap and medium-priced mobile telephones, and that therefore, it is not cost-effective to manufacture parts for such handsets in this country.
"We will focus on more expensive telephones here", Harju says. "We must live on conditions set by the market."
He also says that he does not know if production will be focused on Lahti or Hollola.
Harju adds that the company’s expanded production in Hungary "is not directly related" to the upcoming job cuts in Finland.
The head shop stewards of the two factories were not especially surprised at the move, as there had already been rumours of an impending merger of the factories.
Furthermore, the plan to shut down another components factory, the Perlos plant in Ylöjöärvi, already showed the direction in which things were going in the field.
Jari Pyykkö, head shop steward of the Hollola plant, suspects that the main culprit in the matter is Nokia, which is a major buyer of Foxconn components.
He predicted that the Nokia mobile phone plant in Salo could soon face a similar situation.
Shop stewards and employees at the factories were very disappointed in the way the company announced the cuts.
"A notice came by e-mail - no other contacts", said Sari Toivonen, head shop steward at the Lahti plant.
The shop stewards say that those whose jobs are cut are in a somewhat precarious position, now that the unemployment rate in the Lahti area is already high.
Labels: Other mobile phone brands
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