The world's second largest mobile phone maker Motorola Incorporated is cutting 1,000 jobs as the company prepares to spin off its computer-chip business.

The job cuts will cost 50 million US dollars in severance payments.

The firings account for slightly more than one percent of Motorola's workforce.

It is the biggest number of job losses since CEO Ed Zander was hired in January. Zander took the semiconductor unit public in July and plans to spin it off by the end of the year, which will make some jobs redundant.

The Motorola company now employs 88,000, three fifth of the number employed in 2000.

(CRI.com September 30, 2004)