Google's purchase of Motorola just went through in May of this year. The search giant announced plans to purchase Motorola in August of 2011, but things weren't all stitched up until late May. Now, nearly a year on, it looks like there's some reorganizing going on at Motorola. The New York Times reports that Motorola yesterday told employees that it would be laying off 20 percent of staff.
The cuts will see a total of four thousand jobs eliminated, with one third of those layoffs affecting U.S. employees, though it's not yet clear which divisions will be affected the most. Additionally, 40 percent of the company's VPs will get pink slips. Operations in Asia and India, and center research and development in Chicago, Sunnyvale and Beijing will be reduced.
Speaking to NYT, Dennis Woodside, Motorola’s new chief executive, said that he plans to cut the number of handsets Motorola is churning out each year. Last year the company released 27 phones. Woodside is hoping to cut that number down and load the remaining handful of high quality devices.
The company isn't just saying goodbye to staff with this reorganization. Motorola Mobility will also shutter a third of its 94 offices worldwide and the company is cutting suppliers and reducing component purchases by as much as 50 percent.
Google confirmed its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility back in May. The company now not only owns its own cell phone company but also Motorola's huge patent portfolio.
