With just 24 hours to go, the countdown has begun for the closure of the Nokia unit at Sriperambudur. But the fate of the remaining 851 employees still remains a question.
With the Damocles sword hanging over its head, the union, along with Assistant Commissioner of Labour Dharma Seelan, met the management on Thursday to work out a solution.
“The meeting began at 3 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m. at Sriperambudur. The union presented its views on job issues. Compensation details were also discussed. We will know the fate of the employees only by Friday morning,” said a source in the union, who attended the meeting.
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“The despair still continue. We have not arrived at any conclusion. We will meet at 3 p.m. [on Friday] to take a final decision,” Mr. Dharma Seelan said.
Government takeover?
In the meantime, rumours were rife that the State government would take over the plant as CITU State general secretary A Soundararajan met Industries Minister P. Thangamani on Thursday.
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“Yes, I met the Minister, and there was no indication of the government taking over the plant. So, I don’t think anything of that sort would happen,” Mr. Soundararajan said.
Job cut
Four different Nokia employees The Hindu spoke to on Thursday said they were now in a fix and had no option other than accepting a settlement and leaving. Employees also fear the Microsoft’s job cut that happened on Wednesday. The next round of cut would happen in January, and these employees fear that they could be a part of it.
Nokia will be suspending its handset production at the Sriperambudur facility from November 1. On October 7, Nokia India issued a statement which said: “Nokia to suspend handset production operations at Sriperambudur facility from November 1 post termination of services agreement.”
The plant was set up in 2006 at the SEZ in Sriperambudur. It held the distinction of being Nokia’s largest handset-making facility and the largest such unit across all vendors anywhere in the world.