Motorola Inc has laid off 200 employees in India since June 1998 when the firm announced plans to prune its worldwide staff strength by 17,000. The number of employees left in India has been reduced to 1,000. Most of the employees who have lost their jobs are from the firm’s Bangalore software development and manufacturing operations. Motorola’s operations in India include a paging factory, a software design center and a two-way radio manufacturing and modem assembly plant. Confirming the layoffs, Motorola’s country manager for India, Amit Sharma said the slower than expected development of the cellular market, the global slowdown of the paging business and a dramatic downturn in the global semiconductor industry had left the firm with no alternative. Motorola is, however, making strategic investments in India and around Asia in keeping with its stated commitment to the region.
