HELSINKI: Government of Finland on Thursday criticized Microsoft Corporation and Nokia for its latest job cuts in the country.
According to a statement issued here, the Finnish government said it had failed to keep promises made two years ago of making Finland a hub and keeping research and development jobs.
Addressing the parliamentary meeting, Finland’s Finance Minister Alexander Stubb said: “I am disappointed because of the (initial) promises made by Microsoft.”
“The company must bear as big responsibility as possible over what they have done by laying off people.”
Earlier, Nokia decided to cutoff 1,032 jobs in Finland as part of a cost-cutting program following its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent.
According to a statement issued by the telecom network equipment maker, the decision to cut the jobs was taken in a board of governors meeting in Helsinki.
“The company is cutting 1,032 jobs as its once-dominant phone business was eclipsed by the rise of smartphone rivals,” the company said.
Reports show that Nokia started the latest cost-cutting program in its home country in April. The company has declined to give an overall figure for global job cuts, but has said it in talks with employee representatives in about 30 countries.
Nokia employs about 104,000 people worldwide, with about 6,850 in Finland, 4,800 in Germany and 4,200 in France.
The cell phone business has been not so beneficial for the company and it has failed to dominate the market with its Windows phones. Besides, smartphones have revolutionized the cell phone industry and crushed Nokia’s products.
