By 
As part of continued efforts to trim down the operations of Motorola Mobility after acquiring the company last year, Google has confirmed it plans to cease the majority of the division’s operations in South Korea in 2013. The move, which Google described as “difficult but necessary,” will see the end of Moto’s R&D and mobile device marketing departments and result in the loss of around 500 jobs.
The news comes just months removed from a proposed restructuring that would cut some 4,000 jobs as efforts shifted toward refocusing Motorola Mobility’s product offerings. There has also been talk that Google is shopping Motorola’s Home division to potential buyers in hopes to further lighten the $12.5 billion load.
Google points towards slimming margins as reason for the closures. The tech giant hopes cutting expenses will lead to greater profit, but warns investors to expect “significant revenue variability” in the meantime.
Motorola’s wide patent portfolio was a driving force behind what many analysts have called a knee-jerk reaction on Google’s part. The deal hasn’t paid off for the two companies just yet. As evidenced by these downsizing efforts, Google may have bit off a bit more than they could chew.
[via AllThingsD]
New phones and tabs take a long time to develop. It’s still to early to tell what the new Motorola has up their sleeve.
Google knows what they are doing. Wait a couple of years, and then we will see Nexuses popping out of a completely renewed brand =)
agreed. i hate speculative trash articles like this.
With anyone loosing their jobs, it will be tough for those people. Google better give them some sort of pay. Finding jobs is not easy
I imagine they’ll get whatever is normal there.
One more reason for Google to try and distance itself from it’s Motorola subsidiary: Google doesn’t want to look like the “bad guy”.
South Korea is Samsung and LG’s stomping grounds. It isn’t that surprising that Moto is having a touch time there.
I agree Google knew what they were doing when they bought Motorola. I think this article is a knee jerk reaction.
Google = Software
Motorola = hardware
Dish spectrum = network
Nexus mobile?
Hey Google/Motorola, I’ve got a great idea that could boost your phone sales overnight: start making your high-end devices for carriers other than Verizon. I’d love to buy a RAZR HD MAXX if they made one for T-Mobile!
Bring those jobs back to the USA!
Exactly what I was thinking and hoping, but America can’t make good quality products as far as tech goes, and they are more expensive to pay labor for, thats why people go to the chinese and koreans and the people of taiwan because even though they prolly get paid crap for making it they make it good.