Nokia faces backlash over German plant closure

Finnish handset vendor Nokia has sparked a political backlash over plans to close a handset manufacturing plant in Germany and make up to 2,300 workers redundant.

Last week, the company said that it will discontinue the production of mobile devices and close its Bochum site by mid-year.

Nokia said that Germany has become too expensive and it intends to move manufacturing operations to cheaper European sites.

In response, labour union IG Metall and the country’s Social Democrat Party have called for a protest march to take place Tuesday morning. Local press reports that around 20,000 people are expected to join in the rally.

Kurt Beck, head of Germany’s SDP, has also called for a boycott on Nokia products, accusing Nokia of “caravan capitalism”. German media reports that many citizens have already joined in the boycott, publicly disposing of their Nokia handsets.