Don't be evil? yeah right.
Google AXES another 1,200 employees from Motorola workforce
Google is cutting loose another 10 per cent of its Motorola Mobility workforce - which means 1,200 employees at the smartphone maker face redundancy. The move comes after 4,000 jobs in the Motorola wing of Google's biz were axed in August 2012. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Motorola workers were told …
-
-
-
Friday 8th March 2013 16:13 GMT BillG
"Non-performing workers"? Says who?
Look, Google (a software company) bought out Motorola (a hardware company) and made the common mistake of managing the hardware business like it was software. The management and politics is completely different because hardware design is based on Quality Control, and from experience I can tell you that hardware QC is like golf - it looks so easy you think you can do it yourself but you don't realize how badly you've screwed up until you've lost your shirt.
I can tell you for a fact that Google is laying off Motorola people because they mismanaged the (hardware) business 'cause don't understand hardware.
-
Friday 8th March 2013 17:19 GMT P_0
Well it seems to me they were making a loss before Google bought them: http://mediacenter.motorola.com/Press-Releases/Motorola-Mobility-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Financial-Results-39c2.aspx
If Google has a vision for the company it is inveitable restructuring would be necessary. What are they supposed to do?
I can tell you for a fact that Google is laying off Motorola people because they mismanaged the (hardware) business 'cause don't understand hardware.
I really don't think you know for a fact that this is the case. And I doubt it is the case. If they need to restructure and pull out of non-profitable regions (Korea, India etc) then obviously people will need to be let go.
-
Saturday 9th March 2013 10:35 GMT Anonymous Coward
@BillG
"I can tell you for a fact that Google is laying off Motorola people because they mismanaged the (hardware) business 'cause don't understand hardware."
Maybe you can tell us why Motorola had to spin off the handsets business in the first place? Wouldn't have anything to do with years of losses and making crap phones, would it? You might also enlighten us how for such a meagre stable of products Motorola Mobility had 19,000 employees at the time Google acquired it?
-
Monday 11th March 2013 14:59 GMT BillG
Re: @BillG
Maybe you can tell us why Motorola had to spin off the handsets business in the first place?
If you recall, it was sold off because Motorola desperately needed the cash, for the same reason Motorola spun off Motorola Semiconductor (now called Freescale).
The unfortunate truth is the Motorola was and is a company paralyzed by internal politics. Companies steeped in internal politics paralyze innovation because it's safer to do nothing, rather than do something bold and risk internal opposition.
That paralysis plagued the handset business. When Google acquired the handset business they compounded that dysfunction with a lack of understanding of hardware.
-
-
-
-
Friday 8th March 2013 12:44 GMT Dan 55
Nice one
If they're going to repeatedly kick them in the balls they might as well fire them now and outsource everything to Foxconn.
Strange that Google doesn't see the value in having a hardware manufacturer which comes from a mobile background instead of their own web/advertising background, perhaps they haven't yet realised it helps them understand a little more what people need from a phone and therefore their OS. Them having a direct line to the team working on Android means their costs are probably amongst the cheapest for a western company too. If Motorola don't come out with a Nexus mobile sometime soon it means that it was all about the patents all along.
-
Friday 8th March 2013 14:54 GMT Piro
Unlocked RAZR MAXX HD for.. everywhere
That'd be a goddamn start. Available only in the US, and if you, god help you, get a Verizon one, whoops! You can't unlock the bootloader.
I don't want a 1080p screen, I don't want quad core, I want 720p, solid dual core performance, a giant battery, microSD slot, and preferably not a plasticy build.
They make it, but they don't ship it everywhere. Why? I have no clue.
-
Friday 8th March 2013 21:28 GMT coderguy
For a a long time Motorola made some great devices. The only problem was that they could only be bought in Asia. For example the A series of feature phones based on Linux. My particular favorite being the A780...
Anyway, these days, there devices have been ... what's the word? meh!. From my point of view, if the layoffs are affecting say managers instead of engineers, then it's a good start. Motorola have always made solid phones, just like the their walkie thumpies (communications devices that also function as a cosh ), long may this tradition continue. Samsung are better, thanks to Andriod, it'd be a shame to see the creator of the OS playing second fiddle to a reseller.
-