Google Will Cut 1,200 More Jobs At Motorola Mobility 112
alphadogg writes "Motorola Mobility is cutting 1,200 staff, in addition to a reduction of 4,000 staff it announced in August, to focus on high-end devices. 'These cuts are a continuation of the reductions we announced last summer,' said Motorola. 'It's obviously very hard for the employees concerned, and we are committed to helping them through this difficult transition.' Motorola's mobile business has been overwhelmed in the smartphone market by larger players such as Samsung Electronics, Apple, Sony, Huawei Technologies and ZTE."
Google - "Holy Crap these patents are expensive" (Score:2, Interesting)
The running charge for purchasing those patents must be getting too large to ignore.
Seriously.. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Not Evil (Score:4, Interesting)
No firings after an aquisition is like telling raging barbarians not to rape and murder. It just doesn't happen. Some companies will actually pump resources into its new appendage, but thats a lot more common when you acquire very young companies that couldn't self capitalize expansion.
Wake up Google (Score:4, Interesting)
You bought a cellphone manufacturer but then use other companies to make Nexus products, and those companies are unable to keep up with even the limited demand of the Nexus brand.
Then you are carrying on your back's a company that has been unable to offer a compelling product since the original Droid phone (which turned out to be a dismal phone).
How about axing Motorola and rebranding them as Nexus, period. Throw out anybody that made decision about Motorola phones for the last 10 years and hire some new innovative people to manage that division.
Honestly, sometimes it just seems like Google doesn't now how to run themselves in spite of billions in profit. The are succeeding in spite of themselves.
Re:serves them right (Score:5, Interesting)
As a former Motorola employee, they actually did deserve it. I left the company because they were fulfilling the 80/20 Pareto principle. I was part of the 20% of people doing 80% of the work and not getting jack above the bare minimum to show for it. Google has been salivating at the thought of cutting loose all that extra dead weight and getting the batwings back into a lean, mean shape, but they just can't do it too fast.
Re:Seriously.. (Score:5, Interesting)
I've worked in Motorola before it was split to Mobilty and Solutions. I have contacts there and had a good understanding of what was going on in Mobility. I'll bet Google had no idea the mess of a company they were buying. Mobility was a disaster, talent and culture-wise. If anything, Google probably hasn't gutted Mobility enough if they want to get something productive out of the purchase. There are some really good people there, but they were really opposed and held back by culture, management, and incompetent co-workers.
Re:serves them right (Score:3, Interesting)
As a former Motorola employee, they actually did deserve it. I left the company because they were fulfilling the 80/20 Pareto principle. I was part of the 20% of people doing 80% of the work and not getting jack above the bare minimum to show for it. Google has been salivating at the thought of cutting loose all that extra dead weight and getting the batwings back into a lean, mean shape, but they just can't do it too fast.
Posting anon... I have nothing to add except that 1) I worked in Motorola also, and 2) you are absolutely right on the money. Some companies are burdened by fat. Motorola, however, it is burdened by malignant growths.
Actually, I have something to add: Outsiders and ex-Motorolans like to complain that it was the executive overlords, the always maligned pointy-haired bosses who screwed the company.
WHAT. A. LOAD. OF. BULLSHIT.
There were incompentent parasites across the board. The 80/20 Pareto principle the poster above mentioned was present everywhere. In marketing, in admin, in engineering. There were career-lifers there sucking the living juices out of it doing nothing. Young grads were hired to do menial work, never giving them a chance to acquire meaningful work experience (careers were destroyed in the process, so sad.)
Can't wait to see the axe coming down soon enough. That's the only way to bring the company (or whatever is left of it) to turn around.