More predicted layoffs at Motorola Mobility are taking place under the new ownership by Google (News - Alert).
The company is expected to layoff some 1,200 employees working in the United States, China and India, news reports said. That amount represents about 10 percent of its current employees
The news came from a company e-mail handed over to The Journal that
said in part, "while we're very optimistic about the new products in our pipeline, we still face challenges. … our costs are too high, we're operating in markets where we're not competitive and we're losing money."
These layoffs are in addition to a 20 percent cut in Motorola’s (News - Alert) employee count which began in August, The Journal claims. It had as a goal to lay off some 4,000 employees as of last year. Motorola had 11,113 employees as of December.
"These cuts are a continuation of the reductions we announced last summer,” a Motorola statement said. “It's obviously very hard for the employees concerned, and we are committed to helping them through this difficult transition."
News about fewer jobs at the company comes at the same time that nationally, the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent – a four-year low.
Google purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion largely for its rich patent portfolio. But more recently, The Journal is reporting that “Google executives have referred to Motorola as an insurance policy in case Google loses control of Android (News - Alert) to Samsung, which has commanded a growing share of the Android-based device market.”
However, Motorola has seen operating losses in recent months.
In October, Google also warned that Motorola Mobility could see “significant” restructuring charges, according to TechZone360. “Motorola continues to evaluate its plans and further restructuring actions may occur, which may cause Google to incur additional restructuring charges, some of which may be significant,” a Google filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in October added about Motorola.
Motorola Mobility manufactures cell phones and cable set-top boxes.