Nokia has agreed to pay €200m in compensation to employees of its closed factory in Germany.

Nokia is closing its Bochum factory in Germany on 30 June, and has agreed on a €200 million (£160 million) severance package and social plan with employee representatives.

It was announced on Tuesday (8 April) that Nokia and Bochum employee representatives have agreed on key elements of a reconciliation of interests and social plan for employees affected by the plan to close the factory and relocate operations to Romania – revealed initially in January and reported on ICM news ^[1].

The €200m package covers the €185m in compensation for 2,300 staff, and €15m which will be used to establish a transfer company for affected staff for one year.

The figure is much higher than the €70m originally proposed by Nokia, according to negotiators. Employees will receive on average €80,000, officials said.

The Finnish company’s plan to close the plant sparked trade union protests and threats to boycott Nokia phones. According to police estimates, on 22 January over 15,000 people took to the streets in protest against the closure.

A straw poll, published by German weekly magazine Stern at the time, found that 56% of those surveyed would not buy a Nokia phone in the future, and 68% expected the closure of the Bochum plant to have lasting effects.

Executive Vice President of Nokia and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Nokia GmbH, Veli Sundbäck, said: “As we said in January when we started the discussions about closing Bochum, Nokia has agreed on a fair and responsible social plan.

“We are well aware that closing the site is painful for all affected employees and their families. As we have clear responsibilities to our employees in this kind of difficult situation, it was our special concern from the start to compensate the loss of the jobs in a respectful and fair manner.”

The final reconciliation of interests and social plan are expected to be signed in the next few weeks.