CHICAGO (AP) — Motorola Mobility says it's cutting 500 jobs at its Chicago headquarters, about a quarter of its workforce.
Motorola Mobility spokesman William Moss says the layoffs got underway Thursday and will continue for the next few weeks.
Moss says the mobile-devices maker is reducing costs by streamlining at all levels. He said Chicago will remain Motorola Mobility's headquarters and "the hub of our global R&D and design efforts."
The dismissals are part of a major restructuring at Lenovo, Motorola's parent company. Lenovo reported a slowdown in computer sales in the most recent quarter, when Motorola also saw a 31 percent drop in phone shipments from a year ago.
In announcing its restructuring, Lenovo said the Beijing-based company will be relying more heavily on Motorola "to design, develop and manufacture smartphone products."