Telecommunications HS Data: Nokia Continues Product Development in Russia – Company Previously Says “Western Front Against Russia”

Network devices manufacturer Nokia continues to develop its products in Russia, although it has strongly condemned the attack on Ukraine. Helsingin Sanomat’s data is based on two independent sources.

The company employs 200 people in St. Petersburg and Moscow to develop cloud and network services as well as mobile networks. According to HS, the R & D units have not been shut down at any stage.

Nokia said in early March it would suspend supplies to Russia and comply with all sanctions imposed on the country. Director of the company’s mobile networks Tommi Uitto repeated at the end of March in an interview with HS Nokia has suspended exports of “hardware, software and services” to Russia.

The company’s product development activities in Russia, on the other hand, continue. Nokia’s network hardware and software are used in telecommunications networks around the world.

At least part According to HS, those working at the product development unit in St. Petersburg are confused that the company has announced that operations will continue normally despite the Russian offensive war.

In total, Nokia has 2,000 employees in Russia, many of whom are local. They work in sales, marketing, administration and support services, for example.

In Asia Nokia CEO on a business trip Pekka Lundmark did not comment on the matter to HS on Thursday. Instead, the company sent a written statement which apparently reduced product development.

“On March 4, we announced that we would suspend all deliveries to Russia to comply with all sanctions and restrictions on Russia. We also stopped receiving new orders and concluding new contracts in Russia. We are following this ever-changing situation closely. As part of compliance, we have also prevented our Russian employees from accessing certain of our tools and processes. This covers a number of tools that our R&D teams use in their work. ”

Nokia announces that it has begun relocating “some product development operations” outside Russia. The company’s product development employs 35,000 people worldwide.

Nokia is previously strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The invasion of Ukraine violates international law, and Nokia strongly and unequivocally condemns this war and the deaths of innocent people,” Lundmark stated in early March.

Uitto, the director of mobile phone networks said in an interview with HS in late March Nokia to be “on the western front against Russia”.

“We strongly and unequivocally condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the deaths of innocent people,” Uitto said.

At the time, Uitto hinted that the company was considering withdrawing from Russia altogether.

“It’s an important priority right now [etusija] is to ensure the safety of staff. We are actively discussing with various authorities and we have a crisis task force that is also considering these types of issues. It is very difficult to assess possible future decisions. “

In their instructions Nokia says it is committed to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Global Compact.

Due to the war in Ukraine, the updated instructions do not require companies to suspend their operations in Russia. Nevertheless, a large number of companies have decided to withdraw from Russia on their own initiative, at least temporarily.