Motorola to cut 4,000 more jobs in 2009

Mobile handset maker Motorola Inc. said Wednesday that it would cut 4,000 more jobs in 2009, in addition to 3,000 it announced last year.

The company said the move would save about $700 million a year starting in 2009 and would total $1.5 billion in annual savings when combined with the previous cut.

Most of the new layoffs will hit the mobile devices business. About 1,000 of the jobs are tied to corporate functions and other business units.

In December, Motorola announced that it was freezing its pension plans and reducing executive pay.

The Schaumburg, Ill., company also said Wednesday that it expected revenue for the fourth quarter of $7 billion to $7.2 billion, as it saw continued weakness in consumer demand and customer inventory reductions.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, $7.5 billion in revenue.

The company also said it expected a fourth-quarter net loss from continuing operations of 7 to 8 cents a share, including 6 cents a share in restructuring costs and other charges. The estimate did not include new charges for the layoffs announced Wednesday, which could widen the loss.

Analysts were expecting a profit of 3 cents a share.

“The actions we are taking today in our mobile devices business will allow us to further reduce our cost structure and position us for improved financial performance in 2009,” said Motorola co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha in a statement.

Motorola shares fell 21 cents, or 4.9%, to close at $4.11 on Wednesday. They lost a further 5 cents to $4.06 in after-hours trading following the announcement.