Google cuts one in five Motorola staff
MOTOROLA Mobility, the mobile phone maker bought by Google last year, is set to lose 4,000 staff as it targets a return to profitability.
The cuts – 20 per cent of Motorola’s workforce – represent the first big step Google has taken to revive the ailing manufacturer since its $12.5bn (£8bn) acquisition was completed in May. Motorola said it will shut a third of its 94 offices.
Google did not give details of how Motorola’s 250 staff in the UK will be affected, although two-thirds of the cuts will be outside of the US. The web giant said severance costs of around $275m will be included in its next round of accounts.
Motorola will now focus on making fewer phones and look at exiting unprofitable markets. Google said: “We expect this strategy to create new opportunities and help return Motorola’s mobile devices unit to profitability.”
GOOGLE is buying travel guide publisher Frommer’s in an effort to improve the reviews on its mapping service. The deal, announced yesterday by Frommer’s owner Wiley, comes nearly a year after Google’s $151m purchase of Zagat.