The New York Times reported today that Google's Motorola will cut 4,000 people from its payroll and close a third of its 94 offices worldwide in an effort to focus on a few good smartphones rather than a mass amount of products. Although a third of the 20 percent cuts will come from the U.S., Motorola also expects to make cuts in Asia and India and R&D spending in Chicago, Sunnyvale and Beijing.
The theory behind this large percentage cut? Motorola hopes that cutting down on staff will help the company concentrate on "a few cellphones instead of dozens," according to CEO Dennis Woodside. In an effort to step up to its competition after Google bought the company in May, Motorola aims to amp up its products with voice recognition, better cameras and stronger batteries.
And, according to Google's 8-K filing, the job cuts were necessary in order for Motorola to achieve "sustainable profitability" after consistently losing money in 14 of its last 16 quarters.
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