The level of discontent continues to rise following the announcement from Nokia to halt production of cell phones at its Germany factory. While politicians and workers' unions have made known their extreme displeasure at the situation, the latest PR disaster comes with a new poll that indicates over 50 per cent of Germans would no longer want to own a Nokia phone.
The survey, conducted by the weekly magazine Stern, claimed that 56 per cent of those surveyed did not want a Nokia phone in the future, and 68 per cent felt that its closing of a plant in the western city of Bochum would have lasting consequences.
This latest blow to Nokia's reputation comes after 15,000 demonstrators gathered at the Bochum factory to protest over the closure plans--albeit that the site only employs 2,300 workers.
Commenting on the poll, Nokia's CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, accepted that the factory's relocation to Romania was going to have an influence on purchasing decisions by German consumers. According to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Kallasvuo said: "I can understand this, but consumers will not be able to buy a cell phone 'made in Germany' from any other manufacturer, because Nokia was the last company to make mobile phones in the country."
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