Nokia warns of terminating staff working on BSNL project if dues not cleared

Finnish telecom equipment company Nokia has said it will terminate its employees currently working on a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) project if the state-owned company doesn't clear its pending dues worth over Rs 900 crore.

The company has said the non-payment of dues by BSNL has adversely impacted its cash flow and it will have no option but to take the cost-cutting measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The non-payment by BSNL has adversely affected our cash flow which will now force us to take some major cost cutting measures to sustain ourselves in these difficult times, including terminating our employees dedicated to BSNL account," Nokia's August 4 letter to BSNL CMD P K Purwar says, reported The Economic Times.

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The state-run telecom company owes Rs 910 crore to Nokia, Rs 600 crore of which is payable since January. Despite assuring that it'll pay back the dues on a monthly basis from April, BSNL continued to default on its payments, said Nokia.

As per Nokia, many of its employees were working on the BSNL project. The company has been retaining them for the past four months to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call not to lay off employees in difficult times due to COVID-19 pandemic in India, it said.

However, Nokia has said it will now have no option but to take such steps if the BSNL does not clear the pending dues in time. State-run BSNL had partnered with telecom gear maker Nokia to offer businesses private 4G services.

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