Nokia workers walk out in protest after Microsoft news

[SecularMotion]

Source: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/nokia-workers-walk-out-in-protest-20110211/

After the announcement of the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft this morning workers voiced their concern with the deal by walking out of Nokia facilities. It is believed that as many as a thousand workers marched out today (or took the day off using flex time) so that the company would know that they don’t believe the partnership is in their best interest, even after CEO’ Stephen Elop’s startlingly frank “burning platform” memo earlier this week.

Many of the protestors work on the Symbian software so their jobs will be in jeopardy as Nokia begins to implement Windows Phone 7 on its handsets. Their future is not at all clear after today’s news–broad strokes have been painted but much of the logistics have yet to be revealed. Nokia will not work exclusively with the Windows Phone 7 operating system (and they will be customizing it) so jobs will be preserved but Symbian will no longer play the prominent role it once did at the company so job loss is inevitable.

No job reductions have been announced as of yet, but out of the 3000 people working at Nokia’s Tampere facility (which will be closed down) over half of them work on Symbian. We’ve heard in other reports that cuts in headcount will be substantial.

Read more: geek.com

[lonestarnot]

1. Keep merging yourselves into a corner there big business.

[leeroysphitz]

2. consumers are the ones getting backed into a corner.

[lonestarnot]

3. Don't you recognize sarcasm when you see it?

:sarcasm:

[frazzled]

4. It could not possibly be worse than my current Nokia phone

I had an old Nokia that was pretty good. So when we changed service providers so Mr. Frazzled could get an iPhone, I just quickly picked out a new Nokia phone. It is the worst piece of junk I have ever owned--almost an embarrassment to pull out.

Whatever that Symbian software is, it was not working. Maybe Microsoft can actually help them.

[Tesha]

6. What Nokia phone do you have? (NT)

[frazzled]

10. Hmmm, I can't see a model number on it

It's something made for AT&T. It's red. It has an odd feature: occasionally, for no apparent reason, it starts playing really really bad loud music (you can't turn up the ring tone loud enough to even hear it, but this music that mysteriously seems to start on its own is LOUD!). The first time this happened to me I was somewhere in public, and this thing started blasting tinny loud pop music, and I couldn't figure out how to turn it off. People were staring at me in disbelief and anger. I finally discovered a button on the front of the phone, which must have knocked against something in my purse. I had to press it seven or eight times before the thing would shut up. It was hugely humiliating. It happens every so often, and I want to throw the thing against the nearest brick wall. I showed it to my son and daughter-in-law this evening, and they were laughing hysterically. They are both very tech savvy (my son is a graduate student in mathematics at a major university), and neither one could figure out how to turn it off for some time. They started flipping through the menus and ended by saying, "This is a really bad phone!"

Moral: don't get the free phone. But after spending an hour in the store negotiating a contract for two iphones and purchasing the Apple Care for them and buying cases, we'd spent a small fortune, so I picked out the cute red free one, from a company I thought I trusted.

It looks like this model 6350: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=Nokia+6350+-+Red&q_sku=sku4000281#fbid=8yOMQ_A7jah

[Tesha]

15. That phone is running software called "S40 (Series 40)", not the Synbian stuff we're discussing.

Generally, the S40 "Feature Phones" were pretty good
albeit low-spec'ed compared to the Symbian and Maemo/
MeeGo phones that are mostly being discussed here.

You should definitely call either AT&T, Nokia, or
both and find out if updated firmware (software) is
available for your phone or if they can at least
explain what the really really bad loud music is.
And if it can't be fixed, tell AT&T that you want
a phone of a different model or manufacturer. They
want you to be a happy customer and they're probably
quite used to people complaining about Nokia phones.
And if that doesn't work, Nokia's American headquarters
is located in White Plains, NY; give 'em a call!

Tesha

[Rage for Order]

5. They should have made better software

Over 1,500 people worked on the Symbian software platform and by all accounts the software platform is a steaming pile of dung. Now they're upset that the company is going with a different software platform and they may lose their jobs? Where were they while they were being out-innovated by the Apple iPhone, Google's Android, and Windows Phone 7? News flash: when you fail miserably at your job you don't usually get to keep it.

Also, the article posted in the OP has been updated to state:

Update: I’ve received word from Nokia with some clarification on the news above. The statement goes:

I read the story above, and just wanted to flag that while Elop mentioned reductions today, we haven’t announced any impact on personnel or specific sites. The translation of the original story in Finnish is incorrect – it doesn’t say that the Tampere facility will be closing.

[Tesha]

7. The problem was principally management.

When the iPhone was released, management stood
like a deer in the headlights, completely unable
to even understand what had happened, let alone
to react properly to it*. To this day, Nokia hasn't
offered a real, competent response to the iPhone.
And then Android came along hot on the heels of
iPhone, doubling Nokia's problems.

Yes, Symbian is a piece of crap. But to blame that
on the engineers is to mis-target the blame.

Tesha


* The entire mobile-phone software world had
just changed, and software that had been "good
enough" was suddenly faced with real competition
that, by comparison, was "insanely great". And
the market figured that out far faster than did
Nokia's leadership.

[Lithos]

8. So long to Nokia

Haven't looked at Nokia seriously for years as a phone company - everything they had was at least three years old.

MS's partners usually are found later in a ditch with a knife in their back. From trying to bridge ahead of the competition, I applaud Nokia for dropping Symbian, the fourth rated platform in innovation and acceptance, but wonder why they opted for the distant third platform that is Microsoft? MS has had their two latest releases quietly pre-empted by the buzz coming from Android and iPhone. Way to go!

[Dappleganger]

9. As if Symbian is in their best interest??

Sorry, but this company is so behind the times and Android/iOS is kicking their asses to the curb.

[trumad]

13. Very True

I'm in the Mobile Security business and Nokia is waaaaay behind the times.

[Honeycombe8]

11. Mergers always result in job losses, I think. Still, maybe Nokia's in trouble...

so those jobs would be lost, anyway? Companies usually merge to save themselves, or to increase business prospects. I don't know which it is for Nokia.

[Tesha]

16. The funny thing is that this isn't overtly a merger.

Nokia appears to have been completely taken over
by Microsoft(ies) but no money or corporate equity
has changed hands, at least not yet.

But I'll bet the full takeover happens soon.

Tesha

[nomb]

19. MS has no more need for Nokia's core than Apple need's a manufacturing facility inhouse....

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. Atleast Nokia never forgot what business their in...

They make PHONES!



Meanwhile Motorola is selling whatever the fuck this thing is,

[trumad]

14. Ummm they're also selling the most dynamic phone on the market

backed by the most dynamic software... Android.



It's fine that Nokia makes cute phones but if they don't have a 21st century platform to run it.... they're toast.

[Tesha]

18. "Dynamic" means "changing all the time"? (NT)

[Tesha]

17. It's probably a lot like this Nokia "Twist"...