SCHAUMBERG, Illinois, United States—Motorola reported significant, but not surprising, losses for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 December, 2001, a year Christopher Galvin, Motorola chairman and chief executive officer, said “will go down in history” as one of the most difficult years for the telecommunications and semiconductor industries.
For the fourth quarter, the company recorded net sales of US$7.3 billion, a 25-percent decrease from the US$9.8 billion reported for the same period last year. It experienced a net loss of US$1.23 billion compared with a gain of US$135 million for fourth-quarter 2000.
Motorola produced sales of US$30 billion for the year, but still ended with a net loss of US$3.94 billion, or US$1.78 per share. Sales for 2000 were around US$37.6 billion, and the company reported a net gain of US$1.32 billion, or US$0.61 per share.
Motorola also announced plans to close four more semiconductor plants during the next nine to 15 months.
The company said it would close one wafer fabrication facility and three assembly test facilities, leaving it with eight wafer fabrication facilities and two test assembly facilities.
As a result of the closures, 2,500 jobs will be eliminated, in addition to the 2,000 cuts that have not yet taken place as part of previous plant closures.
Motorola said the semiconductor unit will cut 6,000 jobs in 2002, resulting in a total unit work force of 24,000 compared with 34,000 at the beginning of 2001.
Looking ahead, Motorola expects sales in the first quarter of 2002 to be between US$6 billion and US$6.2 billion. The company expects to incur a loss, excluding special items, of between US$0.11 and US$0.14 per share.
