New From Motorola: FUBAR Q3
After market close Thursday, tMotorola posted a loss of $397 million, or 18 cents a share, and said it will sack 3,000 employees this quarter and next as it cuts costs, reorganizes its mobile devices business and generally tries to reverse its continued descent into the maelstrom. Worse, it said it will almost certainly miss market forecasts for the fourth quarter and will delay the planned spinoff of its cellphone unit. Oh, and it’s delaying the release of its first handset based on Google’s new Android platform.
During a conference call with analysts, Motorola (MOT) co-CEO and handset division chief Sanjay Jha confirmed earlier reports that the company will simplify cellphone unit operations by focusing on two operating systems: Google’s (GOOG) Android and Windows Mobile. Which means the first half of 2009 will be a challenging one for Motorola, as it phases out devices based on the MOTOMAGX and Symbian platforms. “I think that that will reduce the number of phones that will launch at least in the second or third quarters of next year,” Jha said. “But I think thereafter, we expect that using Android and Windows Mobile, to be able to address larger portion of the mid- and high-tier market.”
He better hope so, in this economy.
“The reality is there is no good fix here,” said Jha. “We have been too focused on bright shiny objects and not on the user experience. Whether we succeed or not, only time will tell.”