Stephen Elop's payoff for selling Nokia to Microsoft has resulted in a huge backlash in Finland. (Wikimedia Commons)

According to Helsingin Sanomat, one of Finland’s biggest newspapers, Risto Siilasmaa, The chairman of Nokia unsuccessfully called upon former CEO Stephen Elop to take a reduced bonus to reduce the negative press and dissent in Finland over Elop's huge payoff. 

Siilasmaa had tried to reduce tension by claiming that the terms were "substantially similar to those of former Nokia CEOs", but was later forced to confess on Tuesday that Elop will be paid €14.6m more than the man he replaced three years ago. Nokia also happened to pay Elop a $6m signing-on bonus when he joined the Finnish mobile phone giant in 2010, on top of his $1.4m salary.

The Finnish prime minister Jyrki Katainen criticized Elop's payoff on Saturday as "quite outrageous", while Finland's finance minister Jutta Urpilainen said she believed that the payoff could spark unrest and also that "in addition to the general toxic atmosphere, it may be a threat to social harmony".

Elop's departure compensation will be paid for in majority by Nokia's new majority owner Microsoft (70% by Microsoft; 30% by Nokia), who announced on 3 September that they would be purchasing all of Nokia's device and service business, while licensing their patents and mapping services for €5.4 billion.

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