As it is known, Nokia has decided to close their factory in Bochum, Germany, because of high upkeep and salary costs. This puts an end to the jobs of 2300 full-time and 1000 part-time employees. After Nokia rejected calls last month to repay some 41 million euros ($63 million) in subsidies it had been given for locating its soon-to-close mobile phone plant in Bochum, the state government has upped its ante.

On Tuesday, March 11, Germany's western state of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) said it wants the amount of the subsidies repaid, plus some 19 million euros in interest. And the state-owned NRW Bank said it expects the money by the end of the month.

The two sides are expected to discuss the payment "in the next few days," according to an NRW official.

Nokia has maintained since the beginning that it fulfilled all the necessary conditions for the subsidies and that it doesn't owe NRW any money. That remains Nokia's position, spokeswoman Kristina Bohlmann told the AP on Tuesday.

The bank insists on the money to be returned and in case this will not happen by the end of February, than the manufacturer has to face legal consequences.