Print

Mail

wiki links

Motorola to cut an additional 4,000 jobs

Cellphone maker Motorola Inc said on Wednesday it will cut another 4,000 jobs as part of a plan aimed at improving sagging financial and operational results.

The cuts meant that the world's No. 2 handset maker has announced plans to eliminate more than 10 percent of its workforce since the start of this year, when it became clear that two years of strong momentum behind the popular Razr phone had collapsed.

The company was already in the process of eliminating 3,500 jobs as part of a two-year cost-cutting plan to save US$400 million. Those layoffs, announced in January, are to be completed by June 30, it said.

Motorola said it will save another US$600 million next year by cutting 4,000 more workers, prioritizing investments and putting controls on discretionary spending and general and administrative expenses.

The company did not specify where the new cuts would be made. Spokeswoman Jennifer Weyrauch said they will be achieved through a mixture of attrition and layoffs.

"Long-term, sustainable profitability is -- and always has been -- Motorola's top priority," chief financial officer Tom Meredith said. "Today's actions are an update to the commitment we made ... to drive out additional costs, and a continuation of the plan we announced in January."

Motorola's workforce, which stood at 150,000 people worldwide as recently as 2000, had declined to 66,000 at the beginning of the year. Weyrauch said the company, which has acquired several smaller firms in recent months, also is continuing to hire.

It remains to be seen whether it can come up with a hit successor to the Razr, the success of which has been eroded by declining sale prices and competitors' new phones.

Meanwhile, IBM Corp said earlier on Wednesday it would lay off 1,570 people, primarily from an ongoing overhaul of operations in its giant technology services unit.

IBMcarried out a similar level of job cuts at the beginning of last month, for a total of 3,023 in this quarter and 3,720 for the year, a spokesperson said.
This story has been viewed 1152 times.