Motorola lays off workers in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine unit of US-based Motorola Inc. has cut its workforce in the country, a company official said in a recent press briefing. The Schaumburg, Illinois-headquartered company, which has been in the Philippines since 1979, currently employs 50 local employees. Although Motorola’s local representatives have yet to announce how many workers will be affected, a representative said that a “significant part" of its manpower base will be reduced. “The mobile devices division of Motorola Philippines will still be operating although it will no longer be as big and aggressive as before," Malyn Molina, Motorola’s account director at Ogilvy Philippines. “But the concept stores and the distributor network will still be there." Among those laid off include Mari Litonjua, a marketing director for Motorola in the Philippines. In a recent press briefing, the executive said his employment already lapsed in December 31, 2008. Litonjua, who was later promoted to handle marketing duties for Thailand and Vietnam, also disclosed that his former boss, Patrick Aronson was also reassigned in the region in early 2008. Aronson, an American, served as the Philippines’ country manager for three years. Consumers will not feel the effects of the “restructuring" since a skeletal staff will be retained to offer technical support and coordination among local distributors and operators, Litonjua said. “Hopefully, when the market picks up from the slump by December 2009, we may see a new wave of Motorola phone models being launched in the country," he added. Besides manufacturing two-way radios and wireless network machines, Motorola has separate business groups that manage and market these products. As a result, Motorola’s “restructuring process" may not affect the company’s other business units. Motorola’s first local enterprise was a semiconductor component manufacturing facility in Parañaque, the company said. In 1988, the company established its regional software development center in Ayala Alabang. More than a decade later, the company’s local operations were streamlined and renewed as Motorola Communications Philippines Inc., which forms part of the “global network that Motorola Inc. has put together to align its communications businesses into an actively managed and coordinated unit." - GMANews.TV