Reports in Germany suggest a further 300 Nokia roles in Greece and Italy to be cut, adding to hundreds already announced in Germany and France. Staff in Munich, Paris, Athens, and Vimercate have staged coordinated protests.
Reports in Germany say Nokia is proposing to cut a further 300 jobs in Greece and Italy, to go alongside the 7o0 job cuts in Germany and the 427 in France that have been covered already. German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and tech site Golem both carry reports about staff protests on the streets of Munich on Wednesday (December 10), which were coordinated by trade unions as part of a ‘European day of action’.
There were protests in Greece (Athens) and Italy (Vimercate), also; the strikes in Greece were planned as a 24-hour undertaking – “shutting down the entire Athens office where around 1,000 employees are working”.
Staff in Germany, France, and Italy held “local gatherings” during lunch time. They broadcast “messages of solidarity” between the four camps, said Golem. The Greek office employs staff in Nokia’s ‘enterprise campus edge’, microwave radio, and fixed-line access (CPE) divisions – which have all been moved into its ‘portfolio businesses’ segment, likely in preparation for their sale.
Nokia’s Coriant/Infinera R&D office in Munich is also slated for closure, according to trade union IG Metall in Germany. A further 70 jobs are at risk, as a consequence – taking the Munich total to 770. Nokia acquired optical network equipment provider Infinera, headquartered in California, for $2.3 billion in July 2024. “Its closure would significantly weaken Germany’s and Europe’s position in fiber optic technology,” said Daniele Frijia, managing director at IG Metall Munich, and a member of Nokia’s supervisory board in Germany.
IG Metall has suggested Nokia staff in Germany could also be impacted as its sites in Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Ulm, and Nuremberg, also. The demonstration at Nokia’s office in Munich is described as “small”.
Nokia employs around 2,500 people in Germany, reports Golem. It employs around 2,400 staff at its offices in Paris-Saclay and Lannion in France, where jobs have been earmarked to go. It has around 1,000 staff in Greece. Both Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Golem feature images of the Munich protests. An online petition against the perceived Americanisation of Nokia (and also Ericsson) has received nearly 800 signatures.
Frijia said: “We continue to consider the closure of the Munich site to be a major mistake. The company is not in a position to provide conclusive arguments. Withdrawal from Munich is a strategic mistake that threatens Nokia’s competitiveness and technological leadership. Instead of cutting jobs, Nokia should invest in the future.”
Light Reading says Nokia had 103,000 staff worldwide in 2018, and 76,000 at the end of 2024. Nokia has said the latest job cuts are part of a global cost-saving programme that was originally announced in 2023.
