Motorola posts big loss, plans to cut 3,000 jobs

Motorola Inc. posted a hefty loss in the third quarter Thursday, citing the continued troubles of its cellphone division. The company will postpone the planned spin-off of the unit and cut more jobs.

The maker of communications gear said it would slash 3,000 jobs by April, with about 2,000 of them coming from the cellphone unit. The Schaumburg, Ill., company last announced 2,600 job cuts in April.

Motorola lost $397 million, or 18 cents a share, in the July-to-September period. It had earned $60 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier. Sales fell 15% to $7.48 billion.

The loss included 23 cents of charges, mostly for restructuring costs. Without the charges, Motorola would have earned 5 cents a share, reflecting unexpectedly strong results in its non-cellphone operations. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected the company to earn 2 cents a share on revenue of $7.82 billion.

For the fourth quarter, Motorola said it expected to earn 2 to 4 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected the company to earn 7 cents a share.

Motorola shares fell 29 cents, or 5.3%, to $5.17.