Resellers warn planned Motorola job cuts will filter down the channel
Reduced phone portfolio means more competition
Motorola’s announced job cuts and reduced product portfolio will not just have an effect on the company’s front office operations, resellers said today.
The comments come as it was announced that the company, bought by Google in May, would be cutting 4,000 jobs with two thirds of those hit outside the US.
Google said that it planned to make the cuts through consolidating around a third of the company’s facilities and cutting the mobile product portfolio to simplify the range.
However, the news, which no doubt has not been received well by Motorola’s staff, has also angered resellers, which claim they will have to work harder in a smaller product window.
One told ChannelBiz: “It’s not just the staff that this announcement affects. Yes they may be hit directly but we’re also left in a predicament. [Google] is planning to reshuffle [Motorola’s] products and of course that’s going to be a huge blow for us.
“It’s time people started looking a bit deeper into the chain to see it’s not just people losing their jobs. We’ll be losing money, custom and trying to compete in an already saturated market.”
Another agreed, telling ChannelBiz: “Moto’s choice to simplify its product portfolio isn’t good news for us. And it’s not rocket science to work out why- smaller ranges, more competition. There will not only be job losses in the company but also in its chain and we’re bound to see the casualties of this new strategy.”
And another added: “More Google software devices, plus a cut in the company’s portfolio isn’t happy reading for us. Add that to job cuts at the main level of the company and we’re not in for a good future.
“The latter will mean that it will be harder to get through to someone when we need help as companies always seem to cut from their call and marketing sectors, while we’ll be facing a stronger competition.
“We hope Google looks down on us with some positive light and works out a way to keep us going, but we are more inclined to believe that these are fairytale hopes.”