Google is to cut 1,200 jobs at its Motorola Mobility unit, it has emerged. These layoffs follow 4,000 jobs that were cut last August at Motorola Mobility.
Google bought the smartphone maker last year for an estimated US$12.5bn.
Google is understood to have told workers in an email that the job cuts were necessary because costs were too high, the company was operating in markets that weren’t competitive and as a result it was losing money.
The layoffs are expected to affect workers in the US, China and India.
Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility last year – it’s largest ever acquisition – was seen as a way for the internet giant to stave off lawsuits over its Android operating system in smartphones and tablets.
The company has resisted the temptation to manufacture signature devices through Motorola Mobility, instead sticking to its credo of keeping the Android platform open and working with partners LG, Samsung and ASUS on its Nexus hardware products.
