Nokia announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring of its manufacturing operations. Factories in Komarom, Hungary, Reynosa, Mexico and Salo, Finland, will be affected. The measures follow a review of smartphone manufacturing operations, announced by Nokia last September. This forms part of attempts by the handset maker to catch up in the smartphone market, where it has been losing share to Samsung and Apple. The three factories will in future focus on smartphone product customization, serving customers mainly in Europe and the Americas. Device assembly will be transferred to Nokia factories in Asia, where the majority of component suppliers are based. Nokia said the move should help it reduce the time to market and more quickly introduce innovations in its smartphones. As a consequence of the plans, the number of steps in manufacturing and the amount of work carried out at the sites in Komarom, Reynosa and Salo are expected to decrease substantially. The job cuts will be phased through the end of 2012, with staff receiving financial support and assistance with local re-employment.
