Google to cut 10% of Motorola workforce

Google's Motorola Mobility unit will lay off some 1,200 employees, or more than 10 percent of its workforce, the company said Friday. A Google spokesman confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal on the latest cuts, which come on top of 4,000 layoffs announced last August at the unit which produces mobile phones. "These cuts are a continuation of the reductions we announced last summer," the spokesman said. "It's obviously very hard for the employees concerned, and we are committed to helping them through this difficult transition." The layoffs aimed at restoring profitability to the division will affect workers in the United States, China and India, according to the Journal. Google completed its $12.5 billion purchase of the Motorola unit -- which makes smartphones and other devices -- last May, eyeing both its mobile phone line, which uses Google's Android platform, and some 17,000 valuable patents. Motorola Mobility was created in 2011 when US-based Motorola Inc split the company into a mobile devices unit and a government and public safety division known as Motorola Solutions. Google has also been selling off chunks of Motorola Mobility, including the Home which specializes in video delivery, for some $2.35 billion.