Google has said that it will cut about 4,000 jobs at its Motorola Mobility wireless phone business and will close or consolidate about one-third of Motorola's 90 locations.
The reductions represent about 20% of Motorola Mobility's 20,000 employees, and two-third of the job cuts will take place outside of the US.
The company said today that Motorola Mobility has lost money in 14 of the past 16 quarters.
Google said the changes are intended to make the unit profitable, but warned that investors should expect the business' revenue to fluctuate over the next few quarters.
"While lower expenses are likely to lag the immediate negative impact to revenue, Google sees these actions as a key step for Motorola to achieve sustainable profitability," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Google said it also will shift Motorola Mobility's focus from simple wireless phones to more profitable devices.
The restructuring will cost Google about $275m in severance costs, which will largely be recognised during the third quarter.
The company also expects to book an unspecified amount in restructuring charges, mostly in the third quarter.
Mountain View, California-based Google completed its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility in May.
The deal, the most expensive in the company's history, expanded it into the hardware business and pushed it deeper into the cellphone business, a market it entered four years before with the debut of its Android software.
The cellphone pioneer had struggled in the years leading up to the deal.
It had not produced a mass-market hit since it introduced the Razr cellphone in 2005 and its market share has fallen.
Google buying Frommer's travel guides from Wiley
In a separate announcement, Google is buying the Frommer's brand of travel guides.
Google which bought the Zagat restaurant review service in September, plans to use Frommer's guides to hotels and destinations around the world to complement the Zagat listings.
Google is buying Frommer's from publisher John Wiley & Sons in a deal that includes John Wiley's other travel-related businesses.
Financial terms were not disclosed in today's announcement.
Frommer's got its start in 1957 with the publication of Arthur Frommer's "Europe on $5 a Day."
Frommer's now publishes more than 300 guidebooks and runs the Frommers.com website.
John Wiley is trying to sell off a number of businesses that no longer fit with its long-term focus on professionals and education.
In addition to travel, businesses up for sale include the company's culinary, general interest, nautical, pets, crafts, Webster's New World and CliffsNotes businesses.
John Wiley, which is based in Hoboken, says it plans to use the proceeds from the sales to support growth opportunities in its other businesses.
