DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Nokia will seek "innovative solutions" for a plant that the Finnish mobile phone group plans to close to cut costs, the state said on Monday.

With around 2,300 staff jobs at the Bochum plant in jeopardy, the state and Nokia will set up a task force to explore the situation, a government statement said after Nokia Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo met local officials.

Nokia's plans to shutter Germany's last mobile telephone factory and move production to Romania have created a storm of protest, but the company had taken a hard line so far, insisting the Bochum plant was not competitive and had to shut.

The world's top mobile phone maker said earlier it planned to sell its line fit automotive business to Equity Partners GmbH and the former head of Nokia's Enhancements unit, Razvan Olosu.

The line fit automotive unit has a plant in Bochum.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi)
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