Google is cutting 20 percent of its Motorola Mobility employees...
Google is cutting 20 percent of its Motorola Mobility employees and moving its focus away from phones, the company said Monday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (http://xrl.us/bnkjxg). It said two-thirds of the reduction will happen…
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outside U.S. borders as it closes or consolidates a third of Motorola’s 90 facilities. Motorola will be “shifting the emphasis from feature phones to more innovative and profitable devices,” Google said, attributing the decision to revenue. “These changes are designed to return Motorola’s mobile devices unit to profitability, after it lost money in fourteen of the last sixteen quarters,” Google wrote to the SEC. “That said, investors should expect to see significant revenue variability for Motorola for several 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 company will provide what it calls “generous” severance packages for the 4,000 terminated workers and estimates a cost of no greater than $275 million as a result. It said that cost “will be largely recognized in the third quarter, with the remaining severance-related costs recognized by the end of 2012.” Google bought Motorola in May.