Nokia Drops Half its San Diego Workers in Restructuring

Posted 10 August 2006 @ 07:40 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Cell phone giant Nokia will halve its San Diego, California labor force of 1,100 workers due to a decision to stop making phones with Qualcomm patented technology, according to local press reports.

The two telecommunications heavies have been in dispute over a cross licensing arrangement that allows the two companies to use the other's technology, the San Diego Union Tribune reported.

Qualcomm holds the patent for Code Division Multiple Access or CDMA, which was first used during World War II by England to foil German attempts at jamming transmissions.

Nokia has claimed that Qualcomm overcharges for its CDMA patents and announced in June that it would no longer make phones using this technology.

With the restructuring, Nokia's San Diego workers will focus on GSM technology, or Global System for Mobile Communication, as well as the next generation technologies.