Nokia laying off people
 

Just read the news on engadget that Nokia is laying off some folks in R&D, was wondering if anyone can comment wherever the NIT/Maemo unit is affected.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I don't think anyone is really allowed to comment on such things at nokia? (my wild guess)

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Maemo SW is hiring:

http://www.nokia.com/imaginemaemo
http://maemo.org/news/jobs/

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I think the press release is pretty clear on which areas this influences (and which it doesn't).
http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1266189

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Link to the article

Hiding behind a press release titled "Nokia continues its change and renews some of its activities," the woodsmen of Espoo are swinging a corporate axe of woe. In total, the mobile phone giant plans to cut something on the order of about 600 jobs in its Sales and Marketing, R&D, and global operations. Nothing compared to the cuts at Motorola but certainly unwelcome news for those affected.

Nokia is actually also hiring, but you don't hear about that in the news because it doesn't sell.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Not sure that this is necessarily part of that, as I haven't been stalking Texrat enough to know what part of Nokia he's in, but it seems to fit:

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that the tablet is just the kind of dead wood that corporate would like to get rid of.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Hmm well the news report i read on reuters also spoke about emerging markets. they're just adopting to world economy.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I was impacted, as noted in my other thread.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

As said repeatedly, the Maemo SW team is growing and for what I see there are no intentions for cut-off's (but yes, global economy can prove this wrong tomorrow and the same could apply to all your jobs).

texrat has a strong emotional link to Maemo but his current role is not linked, being in another unit, function, location and etc.

texrat, I'm really sorry to hear your news today.

One possibility is that you are a short term victim of a general rule but will recover (soon?) when finding out the exceptions. At the end Nokia as a whole keeps having a stable workforce, if not growing. You have been promoted in your role, which means that the company thinks you're a good employee. Now macro decisions have affected this, but you keep your chances in the micro moves since Nokia is keeping buildings and operations in the city you currently work.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I know what has been said repeatedly, and I can think of numerous things that have been said repeatedly throughout history that turned out not to be true. I imagine that there are factions with different opinions in Nokia, as in all companies, and changes can take place suddenly.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

The problem becomes one of what I am qualified for. Right now that's 2 posted positions only, and given the number of people impacted the competition will be fierce. I am not optimisitic.

I worry about the NRC folks too. Seems to me the company should be bending over backwards keeping them some way, somehow.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Fortunately for TexRat, Obama is President. The modern liberal socialists in the USA have become victorious. The Congress and now the White House are controlled by the socialists. TexRat will be fine as there will be massive social benefits to care for him now that he is unemployed and into the foreseeable future.

The speed limit on the The Road to Serfdom (Hayek) was just lifted so speed on my misguided socialist friends.

No need to find a new job Tex. Obama and the Democrat controlled Congress will see to it that you are housed and fed. The price is small......your liberty.

Speed on modern liberals.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

xxM5xx goes off-topic and spews drivel.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Yeah, well excuse me. I had something to say and it RELATES to people losing their jobs.

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As usual you are so full of ****.

I want to WORK. I want no handouts. And if you bothered to get your head out of your narrow-focused dogma for once and examine data you'd find that the so-called party of jobs and wealth has been a big proponent of modern-day enslavement programs like welfare. In addition, our liberties were SEVERELY curtailed by alleged republican Bush and company but your propaganda-driven ideology fails to factor that as well (I say alleged because he is Republican in label only).

Check the voting records instead of spouting off in ignorance. Looks like you could use the educational experience.

No, you didn't and no, it doesn't. As loathe as I am to acknowledge it there is historically more jobs growth under democrats than republicans.

Data trumps opinion.

Long live the common-sense centrists... there are so few of us left it seems...

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Road to Serfdom........read it and learn. I am glad you are willing to work. I don't think I said you weren't willing to work. I said with what happened yesterday our society is now doomed. If you like going to the DMV you'll love socialized medicine.

It is no coincidence that the highest taxes are found in States ( California, NY, Mass. ) that traditionally vote Democrat. Checks and balances related to growth of government, expansion of socialism here are now removed. Modern liberals are now free to do all the things they wish.

All of us working people (you included) will be taxed and simultaneously lose liberties at an unprecedented level. Say goodbye to America as it was, and say hello to the new America. It isn't pretty.

You can give the Democrats credit for job growth, fact is it is the product of the previous administration's actions. Now that we will be stuck with Democrats running everything for decades to come, America's "good run" has come to the end of the road.

People getting laid off is very related to economics, economics is related to government actions (or inaction). We are screwed.

Get ready for open borders, welfare, driver's licenses, and social security for illegal immigrants. Then they vote and keep the socialist in office to keep the gravy train rolling. We are screwed.

General Motors and Ford (& Chrysler) will soon be taken over and run by the Federal Gov., as will be the banks and other things.

Road to Serfdom. You don't agree with what is written there Tex? Okay....so you should be a Nobel Laureate in Economics instead of F.A. Hayek, right?

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But wait, Paul Krugman has a Nobel and he disagrees with Hayek. OMG!!!!!!!!!!! An Appeal to Authority vortex!!!!!!! Whatever shall we do!!!! Quick, cast about for the next best logical fallacy before we all start thinking for ourselves!!

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

What could anyone say, except... Go Obama! :) (And Governor Palin, from the Socialist State of Alaska.)

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

LOL..... Hayek won his first !

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How did I know this elections results would end up somewhere that I frequented?

It almost seemed too good to be true to avoid a flame war all the way up to ... well.. noon!

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

All right, it is decided. Texrat's unemployment benefits will be deducted from your personal federal taxes. Please, do continue posting your thoughts here as it will help us, the Cabal, track you down to your SSN and make appropriate adjustments to the IRS database.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Bluntly, no matter what went down yesterday, we were looking at Congress controlled by a socialist party, and the White House controlled by a socialist party -- while I'd generally prefer McCain on a direct comparison, the biggest difference would have been having two socialist parties controlling them, not one.

Whether it's good change or not, one can be certain that an Obama presidency will indeed bring much more change than a McCain presidency could have, simply because he can do more with less hassle. (The flip side, of course, is that they can overreach quite easily, potentially handing Republicans the Congress in 2010.)

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I'm constantly surprised that a Big Company like Nokia, with its Big Company Strategies like company-wide layoffs (what a lazy way to manage your human resources! Especially if your workforce is essentially "stable"!), was not only able to produce a revolutionary technology like the tablets, but somehow not kill the whole project at one of many stages along the way... and then go on to hire guys like Quim and embrace such a radical open source strategy... It's all so out of character.

It's like a boring accountant type taking off his pinstripe suit, putting on oily jeans and an "I heart Linux" T-Shirt and building a flying car in his garage. What the heck?!

Is it because Nokia is from the Land of Linux? (Does Finland have a statue of Torvalds yet? Or is it in constant development, with guys all over the world working on it in their spare time?)

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

indeed, there seem to be two ways for a company to manage economic difficulties
1/ cut costs - this risks damaging the company sufficiently to make the situation worse, and the best staff will take settlements and run, and cost a lot to replace
2/ work better - make better use of the staff to innovate and become more productive to maintain market share and minimise loss of profits

unfortunately, shareholders usually only reward the quick fix, ie. 1, and so directors and upper management get forced into quick and stupid actions. take a look at the share price of a company when they announce job cuts, and compare with changes when they announce new investments/strategies!

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Wow, this is almost as bad as a Stardestroyer.net flame war! Almost...

Seriously, there is almost no difference between Majority Dems and Majority Rep. Most a centrists that lean left or right, and usually use common sense. America is one of the most capitalist countries in the world, and calling it socialist because Dems control the country is a rather big jump. The alternative choice (McCain) was saying almost the same stuff as Obama. The two party system we have is flawed, there is no choice. But a more socialist government is good in times of economic crisis. Look at the great depression, a socialist government pulled the U.S. out, then it switched back to Capitalist. That is the beauty of America, adaptability.

It makes sense that Nokia is laying people off, we are in a recession. A lot of companies are shrinking...

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Korsakoff's syndrome (Korsakoff's psychosis, amnesic-confabulatory syndrome; sometimes --incorrectly-- also spelt "Korsakov's Syndrome"), is a brain disorder caused by the lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) in the brain. The syndrome is named after Sergei Korsakoff, the neuropsychiatrist who popularized the theory.

Symptoms

There are six major symptoms of Korsakoff's syndrome:
* anterograde amnesia and
* retrograde amnesia, severe memory loss
* confabulation, that is, invented memories which are then taken as true due to gaps in memory sometimes associated with blackouts
* meager content in conversation
* lack of insight
* apathy - the patients lose interest in things quickly and generally appear indifferent to change.

These symptoms are caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), which is thought to cause damage to the medial thalamus and possibly to the mammillary bodies of the hypothalamus as well as generalized cerebral atrophy.

When Wernicke's encephalopathy accompanies Korsakoff's syndrome, the combination is called the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Korsakoff's is a continuum of Wernicke's encephalopathy, though a recognised episode of Wernicke's is not always obvious.

Korsakoff's involves neuronal loss, that is, damage to neurons; gliosis which is a result of damage to supporting cells of the central nervous system; and hemorrhage or bleeding in mammillary bodies. Damage to the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus is also associated with this disorder.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Even demigods like Keynes and Rand have been proven wrong with their ivory-tower theorizing.

There are, at any given time, 2 camps of economists. They are very polar. 50% will view a subject one way and the other 50% will see the polar opposite. So who's right at any given time?

It always depends on the one element you willfully omit from discussion: CONTEXT.

Nothing is as simple as you see it. Nothing is so black and white. Experience will teach you that someday, if you are willing to listen and learn.

The Left is wrong.

The Right is wrong.

Reality tends to gravitate towards the center.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

You are right on the money.

The smart companies are the ones who set cash aside for a "rainy day" and hold on to their employees when the ride gets rough. It costs them money to let people go when trouble starts, and even more to hire people back when they pick up. They also tend to lose the subject matter experts they desperately need to prevent recurrance of stupid errors.

But too money companies operate on a razor margin. They live to appease shareholders on a quarter-by-quarter basis (and such shareholders are never really happy; they're more like daytraders). This is suicidal. They would do better to heed the advice dispensed by Warren Buffett, who more than most seems to have a great grasp of how business should operate.

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i cant help but think about greenspan, and his admission that economic theory was flawed. they didnt take greed into account at a strong enough level.

me, i say that humans are by base programming greedy, lazy and glutton if given the chance...

lets just say that i dont think to highly of our base instincts.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

The second way is often done wrong like:

1. Employ a software with which to detect how effective a person has been /the worst case in software development, bureaucracy is usually not taken into account/,
2. Hire a company to do some inside interviews to weigh how effective a person would be /the problem is that the interviewers have to be more expert than the staff to actually have any idea/,
3. Ask the lesser managers how effective their staff is /this tend to backfire as they usually get rid of who they don't like or they need all their staff, but are forced to give someone to the wolves/.

Then fire the less effective ones.

The problem is that neither of these methods is working reliably.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Yes, whenever I hear people talking about greed, I want to say "what, you are going to repeal Original Sin?" We know people are greedy and have other flaws. That's why we build systems to make people better. We punish them for being criminals. We reward them for getting an education.

This is because without those societal inputs, they will not be as good, which will hurt all of us. And this is why freedom is not the answer to everything. Freedom plus control is the answer that every economy on the face of the earth has adopted, because it's the only thing that works. Some people call freedom anarchy, and some people call control socialism. They are both wrong.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

more like freedom with responsibility.

lately its been to easy for a lawyer or something to say a person was not responsible for some action(s), its was some kind of drug (i include alcohol in that one), mental issues, (willful) ignorance or some other thing that made the offender do it.

end result, a legal slap on the wrist and a trip to some low security medical facility, where the person can up and walk out whenever one feels like it.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

I take some comfort in knowing this is cyclical.

What our xxAngryYoungManxx poster doesn't get is that society reacts against what it perceives as extremism Up Top. If the leadership and general political environment are seen as too soft (caring, generous, forgiving, etc) then we tend to vote in hard-liners to correct that. If on the other hand they are viewed as too hard-lined, then we will send up bleeding hearts to restore the missing compassion.

A crying shame the voices of the centrists are lost in this back-and-forth tsunami process... and that it occasionally requires revolution (a la 1960s-1970s in the US) to force one extreme to move aside when their time is up.

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Think people should just remember the reason for all this ****.
Those complete Bankers not caring about anything other than their bottom line.
Only this time they've been sillier than usual!

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The efforts of a person who bring balance are well appreciated by someone who has some extreme views.

The government gave them this power.

I don't call 'copyright' or 'patent' free market, BTW.

Besides that, there are big differences between Ron Paul and John McCain. The Republicans of today are totally different from those of 80 or 100 years ago. Leo Strauss.

Re: Nokia laying off people
 

Actually, these kinds of workforce adjustments are de rigeur for Nokia. There's not a high percentage of people who have been there for even 5 years. They are a bit of an oxy***** - a high tech company that is fiscally conservative. It works for them, but the periodic change of personnel is not pleasant to work with.

And Nokia did manage to kill off the 7710 touchscreen project four years ago - an absolutely dreadful decision. They had the iPhone market in their hands and pissed it away. Maybe the product manager was a victim of one of these events.

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To me, there's only one explanation for this:

Either,

A) Greenspan is dumb

or

B) Greenspan is a lying a*shole

Not some of both and A is false.

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I have never seen that to be true.

Extremists tend to think they aren't... and they are threatened by anyone who doesn't think like them.

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And there's me thinking all this time the bankers being ordered by the socialists to accept bad loans was the cause.

How wrong can you be, eh?