Nokia India is implementing what it calls a ‘Bridge’ programme for former employees who lost their jobs, providing vital help during a difficult period and earning goodwill among those who worked at its Chennai plant. The Finnish mobile phone maker's India manufacturing unit was at one time a marquee investment and a symbol of India’s importance for Nokia. But the company quickly fell into troubled times. It has shed thousands of jobs at the Chennai factory but in a rare example of corporate social responsibility, it is trying to help its former employees cope with their reversal in fortunes.

Among those benefitting is K Thyagarajan, 27, a former Nokia India worker who like most others suddenly lost his job and was clueless about what he would do next. He had opted for the voluntary retirement scheme and the exit had left him at a crossroads.

Read the Economic Times news report here.