Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The upside to being let go by Nokia

bbc.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 53 posts

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#21

Post by jmspring »

Nokia was on the decline even as early as 2005. The iPhone just exacerbated things. The enterprise division, primarily based in the US was not treated as well as the programs in this article. Many in the enterprise division based in Finland were folded into other groups, which was good.

Also the reorganization under Elop wasn't all warm and fuzzy either, from what friends in Finland told me. Recall the protest over the Windows Phone decision.

I liked Nokia, left on my own, but this warm fuzzy, not always the case. The fact that many started their own companies, etc, is a great thing to learn though.

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#22

Post by zura »

pjmlp wrote: post #5
probablyfiction wrote: post #3

It's very difficult to imagine an American company doing this, especially in the face of declining revenue. American corporations have a ways to go when it comes to treating employees like human beings rather than resources.

As European, I have been always put off by the work conditions there.

On the other hand, 6 figures salary is as well a rarity in Euros (in EUR currency countries) for engineers.

EDIT: I should had put more emphasis on "rarity" - lets say almost unimaginable. At least, I have an impression that it is much more common in USA.

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#23

Post by hatred »

zura wrote: post #22
pjmlp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As European, I have been always put off by the work conditions there.

On the other hand, 6 figures salary is as well a rarity in Euros (in EUR currency countries) for engineers. EDIT: I should had put more emphasis on "rarity" - lets say almost unimaginable. At least, I have an impression that it is much more common in USA.

Well a quick multiplier of 1.35 means $135k in USD yearly for a 6 figure salary. Well that's a rarity even for software developers here in US unless you are pretty darn good. BTW, how much is the average salary paid by american companies in Europe ?

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#24

Post by bananacurve »

vidarh wrote: post #17
jbuzbee wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Terminating an employee can be tough on both sides. I was involved in a situation where we should have had security escort the terminated employee back to his office to get his belongings. This employee was basically let go after multiple warnings about not showing up for work and not calling in. When he was told, he returned to his office and proceeded to smash up some equipment. Lesson learned. I obviously wouldn't…

But it is tougher when one side expects to be able to get away with anything, and so often sees no downside in acting like total dicks. I'm from Norway, and I was shocked when I moved to the UK where typical notice periods is only one month. In Norway it is extremely hard to write a contract that will hold up that limits notice periods for full time non-seasonal workers to less than 3 months. Most of the time people…

>most people who are offered/asked nicely to stop coming in to work earlier will come to a suitable arrangement

What kind of arrangement? Keep all the money but don't come in? I would think three months at a position you are leaving would be kind of awkward.

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#25

Post by gordaco »

zura wrote: post #22
pjmlp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As European, I have been always put off by the work conditions there.

On the other hand, 6 figures salary is as well a rarity in Euros (in EUR currency countries) for engineers. EDIT: I should had put more emphasis on "rarity" - lets say almost unimaginable. At least, I have an impression that it is much more common in USA.

Speaking as another European who has always been put off by the usual American conditions, money is not a very big concern to me beyond my (admittedly quite frugal) standard of living. Time is a far, far, far more important resource, and working in the USA seems to include insane hours and constant overtime and few vacations.

Also, I think you don't need that much money in Europe, thanks to things like socialized healthcare.

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#26

Post by at-fates-hands »

michaelochurch wrote: post #12
probablyfiction wrote: post #3

It's very difficult to imagine an American company doing this, especially in the face of declining revenue. American corporations have a ways to go when it comes to treating employees like human beings rather than resources.

The old Silicon Valley was this way. Hewlett-Packard did a 10% across-the-board pay cut and gave non-executive employees a day off every 2 weeks. If a startup had to cut staff, the people were let go with great references and introduced to investors so they could try their own startups. Even when people had to be let go, management would make sure it helped their careers in the long run... because Silicon Valley was…

I can confirm this.

I had several family members work at Intel in the early 80's. I remember the stories about how Intel was known to really take care of their employees, even after they left the company.

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#27

Post by pjmlp »

zura wrote: post #22
pjmlp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As European, I have been always put off by the work conditions there.

On the other hand, 6 figures salary is as well a rarity in Euros (in EUR currency countries) for engineers. EDIT: I should had put more emphasis on "rarity" - lets say almost unimaginable. At least, I have an impression that it is much more common in USA.

My time on earth with the ones I love, is more important than money.

Re: The upside to being let go by Nokia

#28

Post by moocowduckquack »

vidarh wrote: post #17
jbuzbee wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Terminating an employee can be tough on both sides. I was involved in a situation where we should have had security escort the terminated employee back to his office to get his belongings. This employee was basically let go after multiple warnings about not showing up for work and not calling in. When he was told, he returned to his office and proceeded to smash up some equipment. Lesson learned. I obviously wouldn't…

But it is tougher when one side expects to be able to get away with anything, and so often sees no downside in acting like total dicks. I'm from Norway, and I was shocked when I moved to the UK where typical notice periods is only one month. In Norway it is extremely hard to write a contract that will hold up that limits notice periods for full time non-seasonal workers to less than 3 months. Most of the time people…

I know people at UK companies who were banned from doing any work at all for their employer, or even coming into the office while working out their notice. They called it "gardening leave" and said it was standard practice by their company for all employees, as the company was extremely paranoid about what people might do when made redundant.
Post reply on HN