Nokia says it plans to move device assembly away from its factories in Komarom (Hungary), Reynosa (Mexico) and Salo (Finland). It intends the three factories to focus on smartphone product customisation, while device assembly will to be transferred to Nokia factories in Asia.
Niklas Savander, Nokia executive vice president for Markets, said “With the planned changes, our factories at Komarom, Reynosa and Salo will continue to play an important role serving our smartphone customers. They give us a unique ability to both provide customization and be more responsive to customer needs. Shifting device assembly to Asia is targeted at improving our time to market. By working more closely with our suppliers, we believe that we will be able to introduce innovations into the market more quickly and ultimately be more competitive. We recognize the planned changes are difficult for our employees and we are committed to supporting our personnel and their local communities during the transition.”
The plans will see a decrease in the amount of work carried out at the three sites, which will affect around 4,000 employees by the end of 2012. Nokia first announced its manufacturing reorganisation plans in September 2011.