Right after the Nokia-Microsoft announcement an estimated 1000 Nokia employees staged a walk-out to express their disagreement of CEO Stephen Elop’s decision to go into a strategic partnership with Microsoft saying that the partnership is not in their best interest.
A large number — if not all — of the protesters are involved in the Symbian platform and naturally they are concerned of their future role in the company once the Windows Phone platform is fully integrated into Nokia.
Naturally, a large number of Nokia employees should be concerned. CEO Stephen Elop has confirmed that “there will be substantial reductions in employment in various locations around the world” that will also affect employment in Nokia’s Finnish operations.
In a Reuters report, Finland’s Economy Minister Mauri Pekkarinen said that Nokia’s restructuring post the partnership with Microsoft “is the biggest structural reform which has ever impacted new technology in Finland”.
Friday’s announcement has polarised Nokia fans around the world with the voices for and against the move being equally loud. At the same time Nokia’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange went down over 14% immediately after eh announcement, while Microsoft shares have dropped a little over 1%.
Has Nokia made the right move with Microsoft? Nokia has revealed that Nokia Windows Phone devices will enter the market in 2012, so we will all have to wait till then to know for sure.
