Illinois Motorola plant to close, 2,500 jobs to go

Telecommunications giant Motorola today announced plans to close its manufacturing plant in Harvard, Illinois, and lay off 2,500 workers.

The company described the move as "part of a long-term, company-wide strategy to improve supply chain efficiencies, consolidate manufacturing, improve financial performance and build on company strengths."

"We cannot competitively manufacture products when there is surplus global capacity at Motorola's lower cost sites," said Mr Mike Zafirovski, president of Motorola.

"We are committed to strengthening the Harvard operation's core competencies of customer order fulfillment and new product sourcing," he added.

Motorola said it would continue engineering, marketing and other operations in Harvard.

AFP