Mobile phone makers have been laying off workers for some time. Last week, Nokia announced its plan to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2013. Nokia Siemens Networks, the world's fourth largest telecom gear maker, has already said it will lay off about 300 employees in China this year.

In the 1990s, Motorola cellphones were regarded as luxury products in China. But by 1998, Nokia became the largest player in China in terms of mobile phone sales.

Motorola developed new smart phones based on android system in 2010, but faced fierce competition from other android phone makers such as South Korean company Samsung and Chinese company Huawei.

In the Chinese market, Motorola's share plummeted from 7.6 percent in the second quarter of 2011 to 4.75 percent in this year's first quarter, according to Analysys International.

In August 2011, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, with the boards of directors of the two companies unanimously approving the transaction. Google, the world's leading provider of smart phone software, received about 17,000 patents from the deal to protect its android devices in legal disputes, according to Bloomberg.

Motorola China's spokesman Kevin Si said his company will focus on smart phone innovation. Last year, Motorola developed more than 20 new mobile phones but this year it will develop fewer than 10.

(China Daily 08/20/2012 page1)