Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia said in a statement Monday it would slash up to 285 jobs at its factory in Salo in southwestern Finland.

"Nokia is planning to develop the operating mode of its Salo plant to ensure production is focused fully on the high-value smartphone market, especially in Europe," Nokia said.

"Salo is a crucial part of Nokia's global manufacturing network," said in the statement Juha Putkiranta, head of manufacturing and logistics at Nokia.

"Plans involving changes to employees are always painful, and they are set in motion only after thorough consideration. However, with these plans our aim is to ensure the plant's future competitiveness and its special role as one best suited to the production of high value mobile devices."

Nokia currently employs about 2,200 people in Salo.

STT
Lehtikuva - Antti Aimo-Koivisto