Google to eliminate 1,200 jobs at Motorola Mobility unit: report

Google Inc will eliminate 1,200 jobs or 10 per cent of workforce of Motorola Mobility, The Wall Street Journal today reported, citing a company email.

The new round of job cuts comes six months after Google announced that it would layoff 4,000 jobs at Motorola Mobility, as the Internet search giant sought to stem the continuous run of losses at the mobile handset maker. (See: Google to axe 4,000 Motorola jobs worldwide)

The current job cuts will affect employees in the US, China and India. Giving reasons for the layoffs, the company has said in the email, "our costs are too high, we're operating in markets where we're not competitive and we're losing money," the report said.

Google had acquired Motorola Mobility last year for$12.5 billion with to gain access to its over 10,000 patents to ward off patent infringement lawsuits from rivals over its Android mobile platform (See: Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion).

Motorola Mobility, which has been losing revenue for most of the past four years, reported an operating loss of more than $500 million and a net loss of more than $350 million in the fourth quarter.

Google has been trying hard to bring Motorola Mobility back to profitability. It rejigged Motorola Mobility's top rung by hiring new senior executives and last year sold the Motorola Home set-top business to broadband technology innovator Arris Group for $2.35 billion.