Earlier this week, Android Beat noticed that Google significantly trimmed the ranks of Motorola this quarter, cutting the once prominent handset manufacturer down to a meager 4,599 employees. Though the layoffs in this latest quarter were drastic, Google has been steadily laying off Motorola employees since it took over the company in April of 2012.
When Google first acquired Motorola Mobility, it took control over 20,000 combined employees who worked in the handset and home division, which makes cable boxes and similar hardware. A little over 2,800 employees were let go in the first three months Google owned Motorola Mobility, bringing the company down to about 17,000 total workers. By the end of 2012, Motorola Mobility had lost another 1,100 employees and was just under 16,000 employees strong. The bulk of these employees (11,000) were working for Motorola Mobile, while the remainder (5,200) were employed by Motorola’s home division.
In the first quarter of 2013, Google was preparing to spin off Motorola Home and began trimming Motorola Mobility in earnest. From January to the end of March 2013, Motorola Mobility lost another 1,110 employes, almost all of which were pulled from the handset division. Motorola Mobility suffered its greatest loss in the last quarter, which saw the transfer of Motorola Home to Arris and the departure of another 5,300 employees from its mobile ranks.
It’s been a little over a year since Motorola landed at Google as its savior. Since then, the company has released only a few token phones and has seen three-quarters of its employees laid off or sold to another company. In this same year, operating loss from Motorola has climbed to $342 million in Q2 2013, up from the $199 million loss reported in the same quarter of 2012.
With a shrinking work force and skyrocketing losses, even the casual observer has to wonder if the upcoming Motorola X will be enough to turn the handset maker around. Opinions on Motorola are welcome in the comments.
[Via Android Beat]