It has only been a few months since Google (GOOG) completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, however The New York Times is reporting that the Internet giant has notified employees about a huge round of upcoming layoffs. Google will eliminate 20% of Motorola’s workforce according to a regulatory filing, a third of which will come from its U.S. operations. Google will also close a third of Motorola’s 94 offices worldwide.
The company plans to shrink its operations in Asia and India, along with research and development operations in Chicago, Sunnyvale and Beijing. Motorola will also leave unprofitable markets, stop making low-end devices and will focus on releasing fewer smartphones each year. In all, approximately 4,000 jobs will be cut.
“We’re excited about the smartphone business,” Motorola’s new chief executive officer Denise Woodside told the Times. “The Google business is built on a wired model, and as the world moves to a pretty much completely wireless model over time, it’s really going to be important for Google to understand everything about the mobile consumer.”
