Sony Ericsson has yet to make this public, but we've learned that the flagging handset maker has caved once more to the pressures of the modern phone market place. If you'll recall, 450 employees were nixed from the company's payrolls in September of last year, and now the entire Research Triangle Park facility is being shuttered. In an internal announcement made this morning, SE is fixing to close four total sites: RTP in North Carolina, a smaller Miami facility and operations in Kista (Sweden) and Chennai. All told, 2,000 employees will be trimmed, with severance packages being offered to those who qualify. As of now, the departing individuals have yet to be chosen, with employees in RTP given the opportunity to apply for jobs elsewhere (likely in Atlanta or California). We're told that the cuts will happen "in stages," with project teams being assembled as we speak to work out the logistics. Frankly, we aren't as shocked as we are saddened to hear the news -- SE has refused to keep pace with the other handset makers, and its decision to wait until next year to ship an Android device is indicative of the choices that have kept it in the shadows these past few years. Here's hoping this restructuring effort actually gets things headed in the right direction.

Update: And it's official. SE will also be shutting down small offices in Seattle and San Diego, with its North American headquarters shifting from RTP to Atlanta and its research and development operation transitioning from RTP to Redwood Shores, California.

Yet another company has succumbed to making tough choices in the face of a rough economy, as Vodafone is reportedly preparing to lay off "hundreds" of workers in Britain. The report stated that the cuts could come as soon as this week, and while there was no definite number given as to how many of its 10,000 employees would be asked to leave, we do know that the operator is aiming to "boost free cash flow by cutting one billion pounds of costs." Predictably, Voda declined to comment on the report, but it'll probably have to talk soon whether it wants to or not.

We're hearing rumors today that Sprint has laid off greeters and hosts from its stores -- a likely scenario considering the company's ongoing financial struggles and the fact that Verizon appears to be making similar moves. By the same token, it'd seem like these cats would want to be ramping up in preparation for the Pre, not down, so this doesn't bode too well -- making room for more straight-up sales reps, perhaps?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Details are starting to flow in regarding those 4,000 job cuts that Motorola announced in January, and evidently a thousand of 'em are coming from a single Chinese facility. According to the People's Daily Online, 1,000 Moto workers are being dismissed, and every last one of 'em are from the research and development team of the mobile phone department. We're told that the software platform project team suffered the most, and all told, there's just 100 staffers that remain at the plant. For whatever it's worth, Motorola has affirmed that its commitment to growth in the Chinese market remains the same -- apparently it thinks it can still succeed with far fewer heads doing the work.

[Via mocoNews]

As with most other cellphone makers (and companies in general), Nokia managed to lose a bit of cash, market share and dignity in the completely brutal past quarter. That said, it's still doing leaps and bounds better than most, but that glimmer isn't stopping it from shutting down its Jyväskylä site and scaling back at its Salo production facility (pictured). According to Nokia, this is all part of its ongoing plan to "increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the market situation," and with the closings, it'll concentrate mobile devices R&D in Finland at Tampere, Oulu, Salo (though to a lesser extent) and the Helsinki metropolitan area. It's expected that all of the 320 employees at Jyväskylä will be sent packing by the end of this year, while temporary layoffs will be issued on a "rotational basis" (sounds thrilling, no?) at Salo. More details are stored away in the read link, but we'd avoid the depression that's lurking unless your day has just been entirely too awesome.

We'd already heard that Motorola would be focusing on Android alone for its future smartphones, and this here report certainly gives a good bit of credence to that notion. The flagging handset maker has just announced that 77 employees at its Plantation, Florida facility would be axed effective March 27th. Now, we knew thousands in its handset division were being laid off, but this sect is different than most -- with these departures, Moto will reportedly stop conducting new Windows Mobile development at the plant. We can't say we're totally against an all-Android approach, but it's a shame these 77 couldn't have been given new job descriptions with "Google" replacing "Microsoft" in the fine print.

[Via wmpoweruser]

It's official: Moto's pulling out the axe. The beleaguered manufacturer is no stranger to financial struggles at this point -- nor layoffs, for that matter -- but the latest round cuts some 6 percent of employees from Moto's global operations, and 3,000 of the 4,000 will come directly from the handset division. The news comes along with a preliminary fourth quarter earnings estimate of a 7 to 8 cent per share loss (which isn't really "earnings" when you think about it), so yeah, it's business as usual out in Schaumburg: get lean and start making awesome products. Soon, Moto. Please.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

The words "job security" and "Motorola" haven't coexisted in a non-sarcastic manner for quite some time, and things just seem to be deteriorating by the day. Not even two full months after the flagging company announced that 3,000 employees would be sent packing, a new Reuters report has it that the axing process in Q4 will be accelerated. Specifically, some 1,900 (versus 1,500 as originally predicted) will be cut in an attempt to save $800 million in 2009, though there's no word on how damaging the inevitable productivity losses will be given the markedly low morale. To no one's surprise, most of the Q4 cuts will be in the mobile devices segment; we're beginning to think Sad Moto Face™ here will never, ever vanish.

[Via UnwiredView]

It's not an easy time to be a provider of wired and wireless network infrastructure. Actually, let's be honest -- it's not an easy time to be in most any line of work -- but the infrastructure guys are having a particularly tough time right now, and it's definitely showing in Alcatel-Lucent's latest unfortunate move. The Paris-based company is trimming a grand worth of heads out of its 75,000-plus workforce and culling some 5,000 contractors, a move that it hopes will stop a cash hemorrhage that's been persistent since Alcatel's purchase of Lucent in 2006. The embattled CEO already stepped down earlier this year in a quest for profitability in a desperately brutal economy, so it stands to reason that there'll be some belt-tightening down below until they can right the ship -- but it's always sad to see the parent company of what remains of Bell Labs struggle to keep its head above water.

Not even a month after Sprint began offering voluntary buyout packages to an unspecified number of employees and just weeks after John Garcia decided it best to extend his Thanksgiving holiday into forever, in flies an analyst report asserting that sweeping layoffs are just around the bend. Pali Research's Walter Piecyk also expects the carrier to reduce prices to pick up lost ground to rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless. A company spokesman proclaimed that "nothing was off of the table" and that "every option" would be scrutinized, but as of now, no decisions have been nailed down around the 2009 budget plan. Better get on that, wouldn't you say?

[Via CellPhonesMarket]

AT&T may have about the best selection of choice handsets (smart or otherwise) available in the States right now, and continued iPhone exclusivity has definitely brought a windfall of new subscribers to its wireless division, but Ma Bell wasn't built on cell towers alone. There's still an extensive landline division to support, and it seems the company is leveraging the current economic doldrums to make it a little less so, joining the layoff crowd for the second time this year by shedding a further 12,000 workers (about 4 percent of its workforce), most said to be coming from passé, non-wireless sectors. So, happy holidays, folks -- hope those severance packages get you through the winter.

[Via CellPhonesMarket.com; thanks, SK]

Who's praying now, Modu? The once cocky and altogether promising handset maker has apparently fallen on tough times, with a recent TalkingMobile report suggesting that around one-quarter of its staff (including a few executives) has been told to head home. The reason? Aside from the obvious "the economy" cop out, the company has also been hit hard by launch delays and the inability to land a carrier partner willing to shell out for promotions. Granted, this is far from the end of Modu -- there's still cash to be burnt and avenues to walk down, but we'd probably skip over it when sending out job applications right now.

[Via IntoMobile]

My, my -- how's this for truth in advertising? Palm InfoCenter has confirmed with a Palm spokesperson that the flagging outfit will be laying off an undisclosed amount of employees as the economy worsens and the firm attempts to keep that final nail from being slammed down on its coffin. According to the spokesperson, the company will undergo a certain amount of restructuring (sound familiar?) that will "result in company reductions in the US and internationally." Incredulously, the statement also included this gem: "The global economic downturn continues to dampen demand for consumer goods around the world, and the impact on the economic environment is worsened by our maturing Centro line and the length of time it is taking to ramp our new Windows Mobile products." We won't say for sure that it's actually taking some of the blame here, but it sure sounds like it. Now, if only it would take charge of its future...

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

With acquisitions frequently come layoffs, and Virgin Mobile's submitting to that ages-old tradition today by announcing a workforce reduction of 45 folks in its New Jersey and California offices -- a total of about 10 percent of its 400-strong team. With the closure of the company's Helio buy, it makes sense that there'd be some redundancy, and indeed, the company cites Helio along with its transition to an IBM-contracted IT infrastructure as the justification for the layoffs. The move comes despite Virgin Mobile USA having post a strong quarter, so while Virgin appears to be in solid shape, they're making like most of corporate America and battening the hatches for a presumably brutal '09.