Perlos - Moving out and Moving on

Perlos, The Finnish manufacturer of plastic components of mobile telephones and other consumer electroinc equipment , is closing all manufacturing in Finland in September and 1,104 Perlos employees will lose their jobs. Only 200 staff will be left in Finland in technical support and marketing, at the Vantaa head offices, Ylöjärvi, and Turku. The shutdown will cost Eur 35-40 Mn.

Perlos currently has 3 factories in China - 2 in Beijing and 1 in Guangzhou, it also manufactures injection moulds in Shenzhen.

Perlos is currently building a new plant in Guangzhou, as well as a new factory in Chennai, in India. At the end of 2006 it employed a total of 7,612 people in Asia.

Perlos has a plants in Komarom, Hungary, and a product planning centre in the Swedish city of Lund. At the end of 2006 it employed a total of 4,207 in Europe including those in Finland.

Perlos has factories in Reynosa, Mexico, and Manaus, Brazil. At the end of 2006, it employed 1,123 people in North and South America.

This dramatic action is a direct consequence of seeing turnover in Q4 2006 slump from Eur 200 Mn. in 2005 to Euro 140 Mn. in 2006 with profits halved from Eur 21.2 Mn in 2005 but with non -recurring losses of closure and operating loss for the year of Euro 11/12 Mn.

This exemplifies the breathtaking speed of industrial change said Minister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen ..

"when producers of components tend to move more quickly than before to where their main customers are located, no matter how much Finnish authorities try to improve the conditions of their operations at home."

Object lessons galore here for the Globalisers in Gubment.. the pic ? That's from the Careers section of the Perlos website.