Motorola cuts 497 jobs in Libertyville

Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. told the State of Illinois that it will eliminate 497 jobs at its Libertyville campus. An additional 49 will come at its Chicago office.

The company said the job cuts will come at its Mobile Devices headquarters in Libertyville, a campus that opened in 1994. The troubled phone business has been slipping in global sales, but executives decided not to spin off the business.

The 49 workers will be cut at an office on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, which includes designers, engineers and other positions. The office was opened in 2004 under then-CEO Ed Zander.

News of the layoffs came in a document Motorola filed with the State of Illinois Thursday, said Ashley Cross, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the office where such notices are filed by companies.

"We did begin the notification process with employees," Motorola spokeswoman Maya Komadina said Friday.

These layoffs in Chicago and Libertyville are part of Motorola's announcement last week to eliminate 4,000 jobs globally, including 3,000 in its phone business.

The company has steadily chipped away at its work force while struggling with a bleeding bottom line, stiffer worldwide competition and harsh economic conditions.

Before last week's announcement, Motorola employed roughly 61,000 workers, compared to about 147,000 workers in 2000.

Motorola may detail more streamlining measures when it releases its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report on Feb. 3.