Without money, Nokia will close India's biggest mobile phone factory

Nokia, the handset-maker, will close its largest plant in India and cause more than 8,000 people to lose their jobs, according to the Indian NDTV website October 31. This is not good news for Indian Prime Minister Modi's idea of India's manufacturing. The plant is located in Tamil Nadu, India (Tamil Nadu). Microsoft bought Nokia's mobile phone business, but did not buy the factory. The government has frozen Nokia's assets because of a tax dispute of 230 billion rupees (about 22.9 billion yuan). For Microsoft, making smartphones in China and Vietnam is much more cost-effective than taking over the plant. Figure in 2013, after the tax department issued a tax bill of 210 billion rupees (about 20.9 billion yuan), Nokia began to have a financial crisis, and the EU VAT bill issued by Tamil Nadu is no doubt a worse one, with a value of about 24 billion rupees (about 2.4 billion yuan). Sri Hallang, who lives in Chennai, is 28 years old and is an operator at the Nokia plant, looking a bit dispirited. He has been working in the factory since he graduated, with a monthly salary of 15000 rupees (about 1500 yuan). Now that the work is gone, he is not going to have a wedding. He said: "Only when Nokia gives us jobs can we consider getting married or thinking about the future." We don't want money, we just want to work. Last year, Devis Pria of the factory's quality control department accepted a voluntary retirement scheme, but so far she has not found a job that matches her professional abilities. "Other companies pay only 5000 to 6000 rupees a month (about 500 to 600 yuan), and there is no raise at all," she said. The wage in Apulia is the only source of income for the family. In the past six months, about 6,000 employees have opted to accept the company's voluntary retirement scheme. The company is trying to solve the problem of the remaining 1500 employees with the same solution. One worker said: Most of us only go to Grade 12 (equivalent to Chinese High school), we don't have the money to go to school and we can't find a new job because employers want younger employees. Ironically, at the time of the factory shutdown, president Modi was still shouting to make India a mecca for manufacturing. Many people think that the government can at least thaw Nokia's assets first so that other producers will be able to take over the plant. By then, perhaps, the unemployed will be able to regain their jobs. (Internship compilation: Ashton: Chen)