RIM thinks that Bochum is not that expensive

Nokia's factory near Bochum will soon be closed down completely, which means that about two thousand employees lose their job. The reason for abandoning the facility is simple: German wages and other costs are too high. Never mind Nokia's arguments that Bochum is too expensive of a location to make phones, because RIM wholeheartedly disagrees. Sort of, anyway. Although there's no indication that the Canadian firm is going to start producing handsets in the downtrodden German town, it apparently did see Nokia's move as a fabulous opportunity to hire on a whole boatload of fresh talent and has decided to open an R&D facility there. It seems that RIM had already been shopping around Europe for a place to set up camp, and the Bochum layoffs came at just the right time to catch its attention.

A Nokia board member says that RIM is indeed in Bochum, but is "talking to engineers, not workers," whatever that means; we thought engineers were workers, but this probably simply confirms that RIM's facility won't be a factory. The whole story is backed up by Thomson Financial, who say that RIM is planning to create a base of developments in the region, involving 300 persons. Unfortunately all information is a bit uncertain and are expected to remain this way until RIM makes an official statement.