Nokia continues to align its workforce and oper...
Next phase of changes to improve efficiencies in manufacturing, Location &
Commerce, and supporting functions
Nokia Corporation
Stock exchange release
September 29, 2011 at 10.00 (CET+1)
Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced plans to take additional actions to align
its workforce and operations. The measures support both the execution of the
company's strategy and the savings target the company announced earlier this
year, and also target to bring efficiencies and speed to the organization.
Earlier this year, Nokia announced changes primarily focused on aligning its R&D
operations in Smart Devices and Mobile Phones. Today, the company announced the
next phase of operational alignment, which includes plans for reductions in
manufacturing, the Location & Commerce business, and supporting functions.
Nokia plans to adjust its manufacturing capacity and renew its manufacturing
operations to better serve its global network of customers, partners and
suppliers in the following manner:
- Focus its feature phone manufacturing on those locations with optimal
proximity to suppliers and key markets. As a result, Nokia plans to close its
manufacturing facility in Cluj, Romania by the end of 2011, as Nokia's high-
volume Asian factories provide greater scale and proximity benefits.
- Review the long-term role of its manufacturing operations in Salo, Finland,
Komarom, Hungary, and Reynosa, Mexico. These factories are expected to continue
to play a key role in serving European and North American smartphone customers,
but the plan is to gradually shift their focus to customer and market-specific
software and sales package customization. It is estimated this would have an
impact on the number of personnel in 2012, with no impact in 2011. Nokia will
engage in discussions with employee representatives and stakeholders in these
sites, and expects to have more visibility into the possible headcount impacts
in the first quarter of 2012.
Nokia previously announced its plans to create a Location & Commerce business
consolidating location assets including NAVTEQ and Nokia's social location
services operations. As part of consolidating this business, Nokia has
identified potential synergies and opportunities to increase effectiveness
through automation. Location & Commerce is responsible for driving the delivery
of the world's best digital mapping content, location platform and social-
location experiences. Nokia plans to concentrate its Location & Commerce
development efforts in Berlin, Boston, Chicago and other supporting sites, and
plans to close its operations in Bonn, Germany and Malvern, US.
Nokia is also starting consultations with employees in Sales, Marketing and
Corporate Functions, in line with Nokia's earlier announcement on April
27, 2011.
"We are seeing solid progress against our strategy, and with these planned
changes we will emerge as a more dynamic, nimble and efficient challenger," said
Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. "We must take painful, yet necessary,
steps to align our workforce and operations with our path forward."
"Europe is core to Nokia's future. In addition to our headquarters, we have a
strong R&D presence in Europe. We have four major R&D sites in Finland and two
major R&D sites in Germany, as well as Nokia Research Centers and other
supporting R&D sites in Europe. Nokia also retains a strong local presence in
our many sales offices throughout this region, as well as our operations in Salo
and Komarom," said Elop.
The planned closure of the Cluj factory combined with adjustments to supply
chain operations is estimated to impact approximately 2,200 employees. The
planned changes in the Location & Commerce business are estimated to impact
approximately 1,300 employees. These personnel reductions are in addition to the
measures announced in April and are expected to take effect by the end of 2012.
In line with the company values, Nokia will offer employees affected by the
planned reductions a comprehensive support program. Nokia remains committed to
supporting its employees and the local communities through this difficult
change.
About Nokia
Nokia is committed to connecting people to what matters to them by combining
advanced mobile technology with personalized services. More than 1.3 billion
people connect to one another with a Nokia, from our most affordable voice-
optimized mobile phones to advanced Internet-connected smartphones sold in
virtually every market in the world. Through our services, people also enjoy
access to maps and navigation on mobile, a rapidly expanding applications store,
a growing catalog of digital music, and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in
comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, and Nokia Siemens
Networks is one of the leading providers of telecommunications infrastructure
hardware, software and professional services globally.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
It should be noted that certain statements herein which are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding:
A) the expected plans and benefits of our strategic partnership with Microsoft
to combine complementary assets and expertise to form a global mobile ecosystem
and to adopt Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform; B) the timing and
expected benefits of our new strategy, including expected operational and
financial benefits and targets as well as changes in leadership and operational
structure; C) the timing of the deliveries of our products and services; D) our
ability to innovate, develop, execute and commercialize new technologies,
products and services; E) expectations regarding market developments and
structural changes; F) expectations and targets regarding our industry volumes,
market share, prices, net sales and margins of products and services; G)
expectations and targets regarding our operational priorities and results of
operations; H) expectations and targets regarding collaboration and partnering
arrangements; I) the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; J)
expectations regarding the successful completion of acquisitions or
restructurings on a timely basis and our ability to achieve the financial and
operational targets set in connection with any such acquisition or
restructuring; and K) statements preceded by "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"foresee," "target," "estimate," "designed," "plans," "will" or similar
expressions. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and
beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Because they
involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from the
results that we currently expect. Factors that could cause these differences
include, but are not limited to: 1) our ability to succeed in creating a
competitive smartphone platform for high-quality differentiated winning
smartphones or in creating new sources of revenue through our partnership with
Microsoft; 2) the expected timing of the planned transition to Windows Phone as
our primary smartphone platform and the introduction of mobile products based on
that platform; 3) our ability to maintain the viability of our current Symbian
smartphone platform during the transition to Windows Phone as our primary
smartphone platform; 4) our ability to realize a return on our investment in
MeeGo and next generation devices, platforms and user experiences; 5) our
ability to build a competitive and profitable global ecosystem of sufficient
scale, attractiveness and value to all participants and to bring winning
smartphones to the market in a timely manner; 6) our ability to produce mobile
phones in a timely and cost efficient manner with differentiated hardware,
localized services and applications; 7) our ability to increase our speed of
innovation, product development and execution to bring new competitive
smartphones and mobile phones to the market in a timely manner; 8) our ability
to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 9) our
ability to implement our strategies, particularly our new mobile product
strategy; 10) the intensity of competition in the various markets where we do
business and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond
successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 11) our ability to
maintain and leverage our traditional strengths in the mobile product market if
we are unable to retain the loyalty of our mobile operator and distributor
customers and consumers as a result of the implementation of our new strategy or
other factors; 12) our success in collaboration and partnering arrangements with
third parties, including Microsoft; 13) the success, financial condition and
performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 14) our
ability to source sufficient quantities of fully functional quality components,
subassemblies and software on a timely basis without interruption and on
favorable terms, including the disruption of production and/or deliveries from
any of our suppliers as a result of adverse conditions in the geographic areas
where they are located; 15) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing,
service creation, delivery and logistics without interruption; 16) our ability
to ensure the timely delivery of sufficient volumes of products that meet our
and our customers' and consumers' requirements and manage our inventory and
timely adapt our supply to meet changing demands for our products; 17) any
actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety and security issues in
our products; 18) any actual or alleged loss, improper disclosure or leakage of
any personal or consumer data collected or made available to us or stored in or
through our products; 19) our ability to successfully manage costs, including
our ability to achieve targeted costs reductions and to effectively and timely
execute related restructuring measures, including personnel reductions; 20) our
ability to effectively and smoothly implement the new operational structure for
our businesses; 21) the development of the mobile and fixed communications
industry and general economic conditions globally and regionally; 22) exchange
rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro,
which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the
Chinese yuan, as well as certain other currencies; 23) our ability to protect
the technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims
that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as
our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in
our products and services; 24) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and
Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from
third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property
rights of these technologies; 25) the impact of changes in government policies,
trade policies, laws or regulations and economic or political turmoil in
countries where our assets are located and we do business; 26) any disruption to
information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 27)
unfavorable outcome of litigations; 28) allegations of possible health risks
from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile products and
lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; 29) our ability to achieve
targeted costs reductions and increase profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks
and to effectively and timely execute related restructuring measures; 30) Nokia
Siemens Networks' ability to maintain or improve its market position or respond
successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 31) Nokia Siemens
Networks' liquidity and its ability to meet its working capital requirements;
32) whether Nokia Siemens Networks is able to successfully integrate the
acquired assets of Motorola Solutions' networks business, retain existing
customers of the acquired business, cross-sell Nokia Siemens Networks' products
and services to customers of the acquired business and otherwise realize the
expected synergies and benefits of the acquisition; 33) Nokia Siemens Networks'
ability to timely introduce new products, services, upgrades and technologies;
34) Nokia Siemens Networks' success in the telecommunications infrastructure
services market and Nokia Siemens Networks' ability to effectively and
profitably adapt its business and operations in a timely manner to the
increasingly diverse service needs of its customers; 35) developments under
large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers in the networks
infrastructure and related services business; 36) the management of our customer
financing exposure, particularly in the networks infrastructure and related
services business; 37) whether ongoing or any additional governmental
investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of
Siemens AG may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees
transferred by Siemens AG to Nokia Siemens Networks; 38) any impairment of Nokia
Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from ongoing or any additional
governmental investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations
transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; as well as the risk factors specified on
pages 12-39 of Nokia's annual report Form 20-F for the year ended December
31, 2010 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors
or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
Media Enquiries:
Nokia
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 34900
Email: press.services@nokia.com
www.nokia.com
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Source: NOKIA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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