Germany Rages at Nokia Plant Closure

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The conservative Die Welt writes:

"It is unlikely that production at the Nokia plant in Bochum could have been maintained at an acceptable cost. As early as 2006, the bankruptcy of BenQ demonstrated that Germany is no longer really a suitable location for the production of mobile phones."

"Playing the protectionist card and demanding more subsidies for German companies causes more harm than good. In the end, it would cause more cases of companies going bankrupt despite state support, and the required renewal of the economy would be hindered. The result would be fewer jobs -- even if the downsizing would not be as dramatic as in the Nokia case."

The left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"People can and will examine whether Nokia has a legal obligation to repay its subsidies. But it seems at first sight that they will not need to, assuming that the deadlines agreed (for guaranteeing jobs) had already passed. ... Nevertheless, Nokia would be well advised to make a gesture of good will. The amount involved is €88 million, a relatively modest sum for the global company, and something of much higher value is at stake, namely its good reputation."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"How should Nokia behave? A company, especially one whose board acts responsibly toward its shareholders, must produce wherever costs are competitive and it makes strategic sense. Before Nokia, its competitors BenQ and Motorola also had to unfortunately choose to act to the detriment of their German plants. They will come back to Germany when they feel it makes sense. Because even on days when there is such bad news, it must not be overlooked that German companies are doing well against their international competitors -- in the industrial machinery sector, for example, companies' products are selling like hot cakes despite the strong euro. When in Germany enough ideas flow into a product that it can only be manufactured here, then wage costs are not a big problem -- and subsidies are unnecessary."

In an editorial entitled "Why Nokia Is Doing the Right Thing," the Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"It is naked polemic to imply that the mobile phone manufacturers are misusing subsidies, as Jürgen Rüttgers is doing. If he really wanted to help, he would invest more money in education and research. Only that has a future in Germany. Nokia cannot be accused of doing anything wrong. The management decided to act before problems arose or could no longer be dealt with. This approach is clearly something which is hard to convey to the German soul."

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

"From the perspective of German politicians, the matter is simple: There are good subsidies and there are bad subsidies. Good subsidies ensure that companies locate in Germany, even though jobs are lost elsewhere. ... But if the EU's funding policies, which all member states agreed on together, make Romania more attractive as a location with the help of, say, an industrial park, the same politicians can become quite toxic. They then like to remind everyone that Germany is the largest contributor to the EU budget, and thus indirectly pays for the destruction of German jobs."

"Should the EU therefore abandon its aim of bringing into line the standard of living in all states? The consequence would be that the wages and working conditions in Romania would remain miserable in the long term. That would be fatal for the whole of the EU -- not only from a moral, but also from a social perspective. Because in a single market, companies always prefer to go where the lowest wages are paid and the operating costs are especially low."

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