Lenovo has announced a workforce reduction that will see close to 2% of the company’s 55,000 employees losing their jobs. Most of the more-than-1,000 cuts impact Lenovo-owned Motorola.
Lenovo said the job cuts are “part of the ongoing strategic integration between Lenovo and its Motorola smartphone business.” The company is still working to align its businesses and streamline its product portfolio.
The company claims it is “making adjustments in other areas of the business” to manage costs and improve efficiencies. It insists the job cuts are necessary to ensure the company’s long-term future.
Lenovo said it “is absolutely committed to Chicago and we plan to maintain our Motorola Mobility headquarters there” where it will pursue research and development for its smartphone business. “We expect to take advantage of local talent to continue developing Moto products there.” Lenovo bought Motorola from Google in 2014 for $2.91 billion. It has already cut more than 3,000 people from Motorola’s payroll. M
Motorola’s most recent handsets are the Moto Z, Z Force, and Z Play, which are sold unlocked as well as via Verizon Wireless under the Droid brand
