Google to axe 4,000 Motorola jobs

Google has announced plans to cut 4,000 Motorola Mobility jobs in an effort to restore profits to the company after losing money in 14 of its last 16 quarters.

After officially acquiring the mobile hardware company in February 2012 for US$12.5bn, the internet giant will slash the wage bill by 20% to continue it's strong presence in the smartphone industry.

In its largest jobs cut ever, Google has previously evaded questions surrounding Motorola's future with initial suggestions implying the company would continue to be a leading Android hardware marker, with that role now in jeopardy.

While no date has been issued, around two-thirds of the job losses will be outside the U.S. as the company also aims to close one-third of its 90 facilities.

"While Motorola expects this strategy to create new opportunities and help return its mobile devices unit to profitability, it understands how hard these changes will be for the employees concerned," says Motorola.

"Motorola is committed to helping them through this difficult transition and will be providing generous severance packages, as well as outplacement services to help people find new jobs."

As Google shares rose 2% after the announcement, the search engine says it expects to face up to $275m in severance-related costs during 2012 as a result of the job losses.

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