“I’ve been working here since the plant was set up and I hoped the business would run for at least ten years. I don’t know what will happen next, we will file for unemployment benefits. I wonder who will hire us,” said one of the employees.
We hope the union will succeed in negotiating many severance payments, said another.
Nokia said in a press release Thursday it plans to close its manufacturing facility in Jucu by the end of 2011, citing the need to cut costs and bring efficiency to the business.
The plant will stay open until the end of the year and employees will continue to receive wages until the end of March 2012, employees were told Thursday. Laid off staff will also receive severance payments but the company has not yet given any details about its planned benefit packages.
The local employment agency office in Cluj said the plant’s shutdown will raise the county’s unemployment rate, but it is not expected to exceed 4% from the current 3.3%.
Alin Tise, head of the Cluj county council, said Nokia will be moving its production operations to factories in South Korea, India and China after shutting down its Romanian unit at the end of this year.