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Vodafone to slash hundreds of jobs in Britain

by Darren Murph posted Feb 25th 2009 @ 4:23AM

Yet another company has succumbed to making tough choices in the face of a rough economy, as Vodafone is reportedly preparing to lay off "hundreds" of workers in Britain. The report stated that the cuts could come as soon as this week, and while there was no definite number given as to how many of its 10,000 employees would be asked to leave, we do know that the operator is aiming to "boost free cash flow by cutting one billion pounds of costs." Predictably, Voda declined to comment on the report, but it'll probably have to talk soon whether it wants to or not.

Motorola hacks a thousand from China-based R&D team

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2009 @ 10:42AM

Details are starting to flow in regarding those 4,000 job cuts that Motorola announced in January, and evidently a thousand of 'em are coming from a single Chinese facility. According to the People's Daily Online, 1,000 Moto workers are being dismissed, and every last one of 'em are from the research and development team of the mobile phone department. We're told that the software platform project team suffered the most, and all told, there's just 100 staffers that remain at the plant. For whatever it's worth, Motorola has affirmed that its commitment to growth in the Chinese market remains the same -- apparently it thinks it can still succeed with far fewer heads doing the work.

[Via mocoNews]

Nokia to close Jyv�skyl� plant, scale down Salo facility in Finland

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2009 @ 5:58AM

As with most other cellphone makers (and companies in general), Nokia managed to lose a bit of cash, market share and dignity in the completely brutal past quarter. That said, it's still doing leaps and bounds better than most, but that glimmer isn't stopping it from shutting down its Jyväskylä site and scaling back at its Salo production facility (pictured). According to Nokia, this is all part of its ongoing plan to "increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the market situation," and with the closings, it'll concentrate mobile devices R&D in Finland at Tampere, Oulu, Salo (though to a lesser extent) and the Helsinki metropolitan area. It's expected that all of the 320 employees at Jyväskylä will be sent packing by the end of this year, while temporary layoffs will be issued on a "rotational basis" (sounds thrilling, no?) at Salo. More details are stored away in the read link, but we'd avoid the depression that's lurking unless your day has just been entirely too awesome.

Motorola axing 77 in Windows Mobile development facility

by Darren Murph posted Jan 26th 2009 @ 7:21AM

We'd already heard that Motorola would be focusing on Android alone for its future smartphones, and this here report certainly gives a good bit of credence to that notion. The flagging handset maker has just announced that 77 employees at its Plantation, Florida facility would be axed effective March 27th. Now, we knew thousands in its handset division were being laid off, but this sect is different than most -- with these departures, Moto will reportedly stop conducting new Windows Mobile development at the plant. We can't say we're totally against an all-Android approach, but it's a shame these 77 couldn't have been given new job descriptions with "Google" replacing "Microsoft" in the fine print.

[Via wmpoweruser]

Motorola hastens layoff plans, axes 400 earlier than anticipated

by Darren Murph posted Dec 31st 2008 @ 3:22PM

The words "job security" and "Motorola" haven't coexisted in a non-sarcastic manner for quite some time, and things just seem to be deteriorating by the day. Not even two full months after the flagging company announced that 3,000 employees would be sent packing, a new Reuters report has it that the axing process in Q4 will be accelerated. Specifically, some 1,900 (versus 1,500 as originally predicted) will be cut in an attempt to save $800 million in 2009, though there's no word on how damaging the inevitable productivity losses will be given the markedly low morale. To no one's surprise, most of the Q4 cuts will be in the mobile devices segment; we're beginning to think Sad Moto Face™ here will never, ever vanish.

[Via UnwiredView]

Analyst predicts "significant" job cuts in January, possible price drops for Sprint

by Darren Murph posted Dec 9th 2008 @ 4:59PM

Not even a month after Sprint began offering voluntary buyout packages to an unspecified number of employees and just weeks after John Garcia decided it best to extend his Thanksgiving holiday into forever, in flies an analyst report asserting that sweeping layoffs are just around the bend. Pali Research's Walter Piecyk also expects the carrier to reduce prices to pick up lost ground to rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless. A company spokesman proclaimed that "nothing was off of the table" and that "every option" would be scrutinized, but as of now, no decisions have been nailed down around the 2009 budget plan. Better get on that, wouldn't you say?

[Via CellPhonesMarket]

Modu reportedly lays off around 25% of its employees

by Darren Murph posted Nov 27th 2008 @ 2:23AM

Who's praying now, Modu? The once cocky and altogether promising handset maker has apparently fallen on tough times, with a recent TalkingMobile report suggesting that around one-quarter of its staff (including a few executives) has been told to head home. The reason? Aside from the obvious "the economy" cop out, the company has also been hit hard by launch delays and the inability to land a carrier partner willing to shell out for promotions. Granted, this is far from the end of Modu -- there's still cash to be burnt and avenues to walk down, but we'd probably skip over it when sending out job applications right now.

[Via IntoMobile]

Palm axes an undisclosed amount of employees, sort of blames itself

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2008 @ 7:13PM

My, my -- how's this for truth in advertising? Palm InfoCenter has confirmed with a Palm spokesperson that the flagging outfit will be laying off an undisclosed amount of employees as the economy worsens and the firm attempts to keep that final nail from being slammed down on its coffin. According to the spokesperson, the company will undergo a certain amount of restructuring (sound familiar?) that will "result in company reductions in the US and internationally." Incredulously, the statement also included this gem: "The global economic downturn continues to dampen demand for consumer goods around the world, and the impact on the economic environment is worsened by our maturing Centro line and the length of time it is taking to ramp our new Windows Mobile products." We won't say for sure that it's actually taking some of the blame here, but it sure sounds like it. Now, if only it would take charge of its future...

[Image courtesy of DayLife]