‘Govt. keen on bringing back Nokia, Foxconn’

Industries Minister recalls Foxconn chief’s assurance of reopening units by month-end

: The State government was taking steps to bring back Nokia and Foxconn companies to Tamil Nadu, Industries Minister M.C. Sampath informed the State Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Responding to DMK legislator C.V.M.P. Ezhilarasan (Kancheepuram), who raised the issue of the closure of the two factories in the House, Mr. Sampath referred to a meeting between the Industries Department officials and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou at Taiwan on May 30 this year.

“The officials handed over a letter from the Chief Minister expressing interest to take all efforts to revive Foxconn in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Gou, who welcomed the Tamil Nadu government’s interest, has said he would consider reopening these companies within July 2016,” Mr. Sampath said.

Following the retrospective amendments made in the Finance Act, 2012, by the then UPA government, Nokia was declared a “defaulter” for not paying tax to the tune of Rs. 2,080 crore, following a raid by the Income Tax Department, he said. Despite a global agreement between Microsoft and Nokia in 2014, the manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu could be part of Microsoft, since Nokia’s assets were under the control of the Income Tax Department, the Minister said.

Blames DMK regime

Electricity Minister P. Thangamani charged that it was the DMK and the Congress which were responsible for the closure of these companies by making amendments in the Finance Act, 2012 in the Parliament.

“You (DMK) and your ally Congress are the reasons behind the closure of these units. If you had acted then instead of raising the issue now, these units wouldn’t have been closed,” Mr. Thangamani said.

Labour Minister Nilofer Kabil said the State government had helped several employees to get a compensatory package between Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh based on their service. The Labour Commissioner has also written to Kancheepuram Collector to prefer these workers while recruiting for various positions, she said.

The DMK member, while speaking on the debate on the Budget 2016-17 raised the issue of Nokia and Foxconn closing down their units and how several thousand employees were suffering following the closure. Citing various sections of the Industrial Disputes Act, Mr. Ezhilarasan sought to know whether Foxconn has sought to permanently close its unit in the State, which he claimed was a mandatory requirement.