BackFate of Nokia’s remaining 851 workers to be decided on 30 October
Tamil Nadu labour department, Nokia India management and workers are expected to have a meeting to discuss the severance package
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Chennai: The Tamil Nadu labour department, Nokia India management and workers are expected to have a meeting to discuss the severance package for Nokia’s remaining workers on Thursday.
“I cannot give the details of the discussion of the meeting but we are looking at the welfare of the workers," said M. Saravanakumar, union leader of the Nokia India Thozhilalar Sangam.
The severance package concerns 851 workers. Most Nokia India workers—5,600 employees—had opted for voluntary retirement scheme in May when Microsoft announced that it will turn the facility in Sriperumbudur into a contract manufacturing unit.
The state’s labour department had mediated the talks between Nokia India management and workers so that a mutually agreeable solution was concluded. In September 2013, Microsoft acquired the Finnish handset maker but the Sriperumbudur facility did not form part of the deal because of a ₹ 21,153 crore tax dispute between Indian tax authorities and Nokia.
Due to the liens on the Nokia handset manufacturing facility in Chennai, the site was left out of the devices and services deal with Microsoft, which closed on 25 April. As a consequence, Nokia entered into a transitional services agreement (TSA) with Microsoft to address their immediate production needs and keep the factory operational.
It has informed Nokia that it will be terminating the manufacturing services defined in the agreement with effect from 1 November. In the absence of further orders from Microsoft, Nokia will suspend handset production at the Sriperumbudur facility from 1 November.
However, the continuing asset freeze imposed by the tax department prevents Nokia from exploring potential opportunities for the transfer of the factory to a successor to support the long-term viability of the established, fully functional electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
“As a responsible employer, Nokia is currently evaluating options to minimize the impact on existing employees at the manufacturing facility. It will share further information once details have been finalized," said a Nokia spokesperson.
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