26.08.2014
Microsoft has announced big layoffs in Finland as altogether 1 100 people are going to be made redundant. In Oulu about 500 employees will lose their jobs, since the R&D department is going to be shut down. When Microsoft bought Nokia’s Devices and Services department, 4 700 Nokia’s employees were transferred to their service in Helsinki region, Salo, Tampere and Oulu. But due to overlapping in devices and services, Microsoft is going to reduce its employees globally by 18 000. 12 500 of them used to work for Nokia.
Semiconductor company Broadcom has also announced the termination of all of its operations in Finland. The announcement causes 600 people to lose their jobs, out of which 430 are based in Oulu. The company had acquired the wireless modem development operations from Japanese Renesas mobile in 2013 but soon after began to look for a buyer and started co-operation negotiations.
These events could bring more business opportunities for foreign companies in Finland, especially Oulu, as there is now a surplus of skilful workers in the ICT industry looking for jobs. Furthermore, it is likely that some of the former employees of Microsoft and Broadband are going create their own start-ups, since the same thing happened after Nokia’s redundancies.
Finnish technology company Elektrobit has already announced plans to open a new R&D department in Oulu, which would concentrate on car industry software. The new department would employ an estimate of 40 software developers by the end of 2014. (Source: www.yle.fi, 17.7. www.tekniikkatalous.fi, 23.7. www.kaleva.fi, 15.8.)