Google Firing 4,000 Motorola Mobility Workers Following Acquisition
Google is axing one-fifth of the Motorola Mobility workforce following the search giants recent $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola’s mobile arm.
According to CNET two-thirds of the 4,000 fired workers will be from outside the United States, while Google will actively work to shut down one-third of Motorola Mobility’s offices around the world.
In an SEC regarding the decision, Google said it hopes the move will bring about a “return to profitability.”
Google says in the filing that Motorola ”will be providing generous severance packages, as well as outplacement services to help people find new jobs.”
The generous severance packages Google plans to offer are expected to be worth upwards of $275 million. If the severance package money being provided by Google was divided into equal payments each employee would receive $68,750. In the meantime I would guess that fired executives and top paid employees will likely take home the bulk of the severance package.
The company, according to the New York Times, will now focus its major efforts on Chicago; Sunnyvale, California; and Beijing. The company also plans to largely exit the feature phones market and instead focus on higher-end smartphone devices that offer days-long battery life and the ability to identify people in a room based on their voice. The strategy to focus on high-end users has been a big step forward for other manufacturers including Apple and, most recently, Samsung.
Motorola plans to offer only a handful of devices each year with an emphasis of course on the Google Android mobile operating system. The company faces an uphill battle in which Samsung has become synonymous with the Google Android OS and Apple continues to attract an increasing number of phone and PC users who prefer to have all of their major computing devices supported under one roof.
Tags : google, motorola, Motorola Mobility, Smartphone Business, smartphones
Posted: August 13, 2012
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Aug 14, 2012
elsewhere it is cited as 2/3 of the staff being laid off are from outside the US. Care to cite your sources?
Aug 14, 2012
elsewhere it is cited as 2/3 of the staff being laid off are from outside the US. Care to cite your sources?
Aug 14, 2012
The best phone I've ever had was a Moto Droid2. Sorry, but the Samsung Stratosphere that now "replaces" it has horrid reception, even if slightly better battery life. I'm unsure what to get next, but the Droid4 weighs heavily on my list of "next to get" phones.
Aug 14, 2012
If divided equally…
Aug 14, 2012
I love google, and it's nice to see a company that even provides severance packages; meanwhile the rest of our countries businesses complain that they MIGHT have to provide healthcare if they have 50+ employees. google is the model for how every business should be, and it's no mystery that their employees are more productive and innovative than any other company out there for that reason.
Aug 14, 2012
I feel the urge to google "if divided equally" and see what it means.
Aug 14, 2012
Honestly, you should just get a Galaxy Nexus, or the upcoming version if you aren't going to be upgrading this year. That way you get the latest updates fast.
Aug 14, 2012
Honestly, you should just get a Galaxy Nexus, or the upcoming version if you aren't going to be upgrading this year. That way you get the latest updates fast.
Aug 14, 2012
Honestly, you should just get a Galaxy Nexus, or the upcoming version if you aren't going to be upgrading this year. That way you get the latest updates fast.
Aug 14, 2012
Agreed, part of me wants to say that Google just does this because their profit margin allows it. Also, they think the good will it produces will bring in talented job candidates. But then I realized I know plenty of companies that still wouldn't offer these benefits even if they made just as much money, they'd pocket it at the top of the food chain and throw the employees a slightly lavish christmas party
Aug 14, 2012
I wish there was more info on what the new Nexus phones were going to be. There isn't any good information about there right now.
Aug 14, 2012
I wish there was more info on what the new Nexus phones were going to be. There isn't any good information about there right now.
Aug 14, 2012
I wish there was more info on what the new Nexus phones were going to be. There isn't any good information about there right now.
Aug 14, 2012
I wish there was more info on what the new Nexus phones were going to be. There isn't any good information about there right now.
Aug 14, 2012
I wish there was more info on what the new Nexus phones were going to be. There isn't any good information about there right now.
Aug 14, 2012
And they would have all been laid off if Google did not buy the company. Some other company would just buy the patents and can the entire company. They should feel lucky there is a severage package. Not all companies have them.
Aug 14, 2012
Windows Phone!
Aug 14, 2012
I agree too. The other day I read that if a Google Employee Dies, Spouse Gets Half Pay for 10 Years. Now here I read about Google Firing 4,000 Motorola Mobility Workers following acquisition. Google is just being realistic. They have got an excellent team of people who can innovate in the internet domain. However the acquired Motorola Mobility division has a sword of Damocles hanging on their neck in the form of Smartphone King Apple and Queen, Samsung. Motorola Mobility needs a lot of catching up. If Google can innovate with Motorola Mobilty's Smartphone, they will become the Badshah of Internet. Microsoft is also breathing on their neck with Surface and Windows 8. I'm watching this space.
Aug 14, 2012
evil company
Aug 14, 2012
Something tells me there will be a pause in the uptake of current moto-phones untill they announce the list of phones that will not be End-Of-Lifed soon. Was looking at a Razor Maxx, but, that is on hold until release of that survivors list.
Aug 15, 2012
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