Google swings the axe at Motorola: 4000 jobs will go worldwide
Google which bought cellphone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion last year, is to cut 20 percent of its workforce and shut a third of its offices worldwide. About 4000 employees will be laid off.
Google plans Motorola job cuts
One-third of the jobs lost will be in the United States, but the company has not said where. Motorola employs 250 people in the UK at three sites; Basingstoke, Livingstone and Swindon.
Google said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, "These changes are designed to return Motorola's mobile devices unit to profitability, after it lost money in fourteen of the last sixteen quarters.
"While lower expenses are likely to lag the immediate negative impact to revenue, Google sees these actions as a key step for Motorola to achieve sustainable profitability."
The search giant expects severance charges to be up to $275 million.
A Google spokesperson said Motorola would help employees through this difficult transition and provide "generous severance packages, as well as outplacement services to help people find new jobs."
When Google bought Motorola Mobility the idea was reportedly in part to use Motorola patents to defend its Android mobile platform against legal attacks.
The New York Times has said Google planned to shrink operations in Asia and India, stop making low-end devices and focus on a few cellphones instead of dozens.
Google is also cutting Motorola Mobility's management, letting go 40 percent of its vice presidents, but has also hired new senior executives, said the Times.