Continuing the restructuring announced in 2017, China-based Lenovo’s Motorola operation is said to have laid off between thirty to fifty percent of its workforce in Chicago, Illinois. Rumors and speculation preceded the layoff, but the company refused to confirm the details or provide a reduction-in-force headcount.
In a statement to an industry blog, GSMArena, Lenvovo is quoted as saying, “In late 2017, Lenovo announced a worldwide resource action that would occur over the next several quarters, and impacting less than two percent of its global workforce. This week’s employment reductions are a continuation of that process. We are reducing our Motorola operations in Chicago, however, this did not impact half of our workforce there and our Moto Z family will continue.”
Let us not forget that the iconic Motorola company patented the cellphone in 1973 and produced the first commercial handheld cellphone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000 in 1984, followed by the first flip phone, the MicroTAC in 1989, the first GSM handset, the Motorola 3200 in 1991, and the first clamshell phone, the StarTAC in 1996. Unfortunately, Motorola was split and merged out of existence as a result of poor management decisions.
All my original communications equipment was made by Motorola, GE, or Harris. My original mobile phone was made by Motorola, my in-car system was from Nokia, and then on to the iPhone series of so-called smartphones.
Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?