Nokia has laid off 500 employees, out of the 1.830 who have been working at its factory in Jucu, Cluj county, a month earlier than expected, mainly due to lack of orders. This happened after the Finnish group decided to close down the Romanian factory,  part of the company’s attempt to reduce costs and streamline the workforce. The rest of the employees will leave the factory until the end of November. Nokia has initially said it was planning to close down the Romanian facility by the end of the year.

„Nokia Metal” union leader Valentin Ilicas said that all the employees that will be let go will be paid by the end of March.

„A total of 500 employees from the day shift will leave the Nokia factory from Jucu, thus stopping their activity here, and they will receive a parting gift consisting of a Nokia 500 telephone. The rest of the employees will leave the company until 30 November, and the factory production will cease after this date,” said Ilicas. He also said that for the employees that left the company, Nokia will fund re-training courses. It will also organize a process for those who want to apply for the amount of EUR 500 given by the company to employees who want to open a business or continue their studies.

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi,Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki. Nokia manufactures mobile devices, with over 132,000 employees in 120 countries and sales in more than 150 countries.

More about Nokia's decision here.

Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com