Too many broken promises from Microsoft, official says

May 27, 2016 07:48 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has recently announced a new round of job layoffs at its Mobile unit in Finland, as it moves forward with its restructuring and reorganization plan following the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services unit.

The Finnish government criticized Microsoft for turning to more job cuts in the country, pointing out that the company has a huge responsibility to help those who are being let go. Microsoft’s latest job cut round included 1,850 people, 1,350 of whom are said to be working in Finland.

“I am disappointed because of the (initial) promises made by Microsoft," Finance Minister Alexander Stubb was quoted as saying by Reuters. “One example is that the data center did not materialize despite the company's promise.”

Back in 2013, when Microsoft purchased Nokia’s Devices and Services business, the company promised to invest $250 million in a data center located in Finland that was specifically meant to provide services to European customers. The new data center was supposed to generate more jobs locally, but the construction of the facility has never started.

Microsoft says that the new job cuts will be completed by the end of the year, with all employees to receive severance packages worth $200 million (€178 million).

The “ghost town”

And yet, Finland accuses Microsoft of contributing to the economic downturn that affects the country, as the company fired thousands of people under its restructuring plan and closed facilities that were once among the most successful in Europe.

The research and development center in Salo, for example, was shut down by Microsoft, turning the city into what many described as a “ghost town.” The local facility started operations in the mid-1980s, and its closure dramatically impacted the city, with local sources revealing that “schools are closing, restaurants are mostly empty, and youths worried that they won’t be able to find jobs.”

“The company must bear as big a responsibility as possible over what they have done by laying off people,” Employment Minister Jari Lindstrom explained in a statement.

Microsoft hasn’t yet offered any additional comments following these reports, but the chances are that the company will never say anything else because it’s very clear that such decisions aren’t the easiest ones to make, given the fact that the future of so many people is involved.