Motorola Shakes Up Its Research Labs; Eliminates 120 People And Reassigns 180 More
By Tricia Duryee - Thu 12 Jun 2008 04:25 PM PST
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is cutting the size of its research division in half, by laying off about 120 people and reassigning 180 others to different divisions within the company, according to a source quoted by RCR. The remaining 300 employees will form a new division called “Applied Research & Technology.” Up until now, the research division, called Motorola Labs, was responsible for conducting research on everything from cellphones to radio technology. RCR said that Motorola declined to comment on the specific job cuts, but confirmed the division’s reorganization. The changes will take place on July 1. This must be part of the company’s attempt to spin-off the troubled handset division, but it makes you wonder: If one of the biggest criticisms of Motorola is that it is not producing good handsets, is it smart to make such drastic cuts in the research department?
