Nokia to Downsize Employees by 4,000 Severing Ties to Symbian
We have heard that Nokia was focusing its attention on the Windows Phone 7 platform, which was scheduled to be its primary smartphone operating system by 2012. Reports suggested that the Finnish company would cease to continue the Symbian and Maemo platforms at around the same time. However, they recently let transferred 3,000 of its workforce to Accenture, which seems to be the final blow for Symbian. 
Accenture is a management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company. The former Nokia Symbian development team’s employment has now been transferred to the said outsourcing firm. This is strange, since the company has no prior experience in providing mobile phone operating system updates. However, it is good to hear that the 3000 former Nokia Symbian developers no longer have to worry about losing their jobs. This is also means the smartphones such as the N8, E7, and C7 will still get their much awaited updates.
The transition from Nokia to Accenture will take place this year till the year’s end. Employees affected will be people based in India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Finland. Over the course of a year, the transitioned employees will be given the option to look for other opportunities or redeploy to other responsibilities from their new employer.
Sadly, this will not be the case for 4,000 employees currently on the payroll of Nokia. From the beginning to the end of 2012, 4,000 of Nokia’s global workforce will lose their jobs, which were announced as a “substantial reduction of employment” in the past. Areas most affected will be Denmark, the UK, and, ironically, Finland. The massive reduction in employment will occur in phases.
The collaboration between the two includes an arrangement to provide business services, operational services, and mobility software to Windows Phone 7-based Nokia handsets in the future.
Source: Engadget
