The long-expected round of layoffs at Nokia are likely to be less severe in Oulu than expected: six months ago, it seemed likely that the number of employees at Nokia´s Oulu offices would drop to well below 1000.
Nokia currently employs about 1300 people in Oulu, whereas a year ago the firm had approximately 1900 in its employ.
Last autumn, about 400 Nokia employees were transferred to jobs at IT firm Accenture.
Of the other laid-off employees, some found work elsewhere and left the company´s service late last year, but those who did not were allowed to stay on Nokia´s payroll until the end of the year.
New positions, however, have also been opened in Oulu as a result of Nokia´s push to redesign its cheaper mid-priced models.
According to industry experts, the software platforms for Nokia´s mid-range models, S30 and S40, will need to be updated in the near future. Additionally, it has been rumored that Nokia is developing a new platform called Meltemi for its phones, although this has not been confirmed by the company.
In November, Nokia purchased the Norwegian company Smarterphone, which is currently developing a platform for basic mobile phones. The rivalry with Android-based smartphones is putting pressure on Nokia to include more smartphone features into its less-expensive models.