Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia, the worldwide leading handset vendor, announced today that it planned on enhancing the operating mode at its Salo plant, in an attempt to make sure that its production will focus on the high-end segment of the smartphone market. According to the company, the move is likely to result in the reduction of the personnel at the plant by 285 people.

“Nokia is planning to develop the operating mode of its Salo plant to ensure production is focused fully on the high-value smartphone market, especially in Europe. The key drivers for a new operating mode in Salo plant are diverse customer requirements, faster deliveries in high-end mobile device manufacturing and the company's transformation towards a solution-driven offering. The plans will result in the introduction of new and highly specialized manufacturing methods and also entail changes to personnel at the facility,” the company notes,

The 285 employees that will be affected by the company's plans are involved in the production area and related support functions at Salo, the handset vendor notes. Moreover, the company added that the facility had a number of 2,200 employees at the moment. The company has performed a long series of job cuts over the past several quarters, most of you might already know, as it was greatly affected by the economic turmoil and was trying to minimize costs.

However, the mobile phone maker says that it plans on supporting alternative solutions, including finding new positions within the company for the employees affected by its plans. The company is set to start consultations with employee representatives on the announced plans, and will also discuss voluntary severance packages. Moreover, the handset vendor also noted that it would stop “rotational temporary lay-offs at the Salo plant by the end of June 2010.”

“Salo is a crucial part of Nokia's global manufacturing network. Plans involving changes to employees are always painful, and they are set in motion only after thorough consideration. However, with these plans our aim is to ensure the plant's future competitiveness and its special role as one best suited to the production of high value mobile devices,” Juha Putkiranta, senior vice president, Markets, Nokia, commented. The company added that it had ten manufacturing sites in nine countries around the world, including Brazil, China, Finland, Hungary, India, Mexico, Romania, South Korea and the United Kingdom.