Motorola sued by former executive for US$1 million

Motorola Inc, the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, was sued for at least US$1 million by a former vice president who said he was fired for exposing malfeasance, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing the lawsuit.

Robert Krolopp, former vice president and director of software development for Motorola's cellphone division, filed the suit against the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company on Oct. 31 in Cook County Circuit Court, the paper said.

In the suit, Krolopp alleged he was fired last year after he complained to a senior vice president in September last year that a US$32 million payment from Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd, meant for software development, had been used to cover operating deficits instead, the report said. Krolopp oversaw a part of Motorola's contract with Hutchinson to develop third-generation mobile phones, the paper said.

Two weeks later, the senior vice president, Daniel Nickel, suspended Krolopp without pay, the paper said, citing the suit.