Nokia Forced to Take Drastic Measures

Just a year and a half after Finnish phone maker Nokia joined forces with Microsoft to try and crack the smart phone market, the company has been forced to take some drastic measures to stay in the game.

The company today described plans to drastically revamp the handset business as it cuts 10,000 jobs and close factories and research facilities. Nokia said it will shut R&D centers in Ulm, Germany and  Burnaby, British Columbia; and even close it’s main manufacturing plant in Salo, Finland. “We are increasing our focus on the products and services that our consumers value most while continuing to invest in the innovation that has always defined Nokia,” the Nokia CEO, Stephan Elop, said.

Despite good reviews on its high-end Lumina 900 phone (powered by the Windows mobile operating system)–and even price cuts to $100 in April–the device has failed to dent a market dominated by Apple and Android phones.

You can read about Nokia’s efforts to recapture some of its former glory in our feature article Can This Man Work Magic?.