Google acquisition of Motorola Mobility closing soon; layoffs seen
Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will close in the next two business days, according to a form filed by Motorola Mobility over the weekend.
The $12.5-billion takeover, which was announced in August, cleared its final hurdle last week when the Chinese government finally gave the deal a go-ahead, albeit with a condition: Android must remain free and open for the next five years.
The deal will give Google an in-house phone manufacturer as the company begins a strategy to fix Android fragmentation by making more unified Android phones and by selling phones directly to customers.
However, layoffs at Motorola Mobility are expected as a result of the deal.
Google’s next step is a scheduled “listening tour” of the company, which reportedly has about 19,000 employees, before beginning to make decisions.
TechCrunch reports that it has heard that layoffs are coming, and it cites a previous Google takeover as precedent for imminent staff cuts.
Motorola could not be reached for comment, and Google said it had no comments at this time.
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