Motorola is laying off 1,000 employees in conjunction
with its upcoming chip unit spinoff and ongoing efforts to reduce
operating costs.
The communication technologies company said it will take a
charge of $50m (£28m) to cover severance benefits.
The job cuts will eliminate corporate positions connected with
the separation of Motorola's semiconductor products group, now
operating independently as Freescale Semiconductor.
Also affected by the cuts are Motorola's commercial, government
and industrial solutions business; its integrated electronic
systems group; its broadband communications unit, and assorted
corporate functions.
Motorola ended 2003 with 88,000 employees worldwide, down 9%
from the 97,000 employees it had a year earlier. In the first six
months of this year, it laid off 1,900 people.
The staffing changes are part of Motorola's strategy to reverse
several years of losses and focus on what it describes as its core
competency, providing "seamless mobility".
Motorola returned to profitability in 2003 with earnings of
$893m, and has stayed in the black so far this year, although it
posted a $203m loss in its most recent quarter.
Stacy Cowley writes for IDG News Service