Nokia employees stage mass walkout over new Microsoft-centric business strategy

Up to 1,000 Nokia employees in Finland walked out on the job yesterday, following the news that Nokia's future would be based on integrating its products with Microsoft services and abandoning most of its own technology. The walkouts either simply downed tools and walked away or took a day's worth of "flex time."

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.

Nokia workers walk out in protest after Microsoft news

(via /.)


(Image: HS.fi)