Motorola Inc. on Tuesday announced a $3.6 billion fourth-quarter loss, the suspension of its quarterly dividend and
the departure of CFO Paul Liska after only a year on the job. The trifecta of unsettling news set off a new round of speculation about the future of the Illinois mobile phone maker, which is coming off a tumultuous several months.
Here are few highlights (or lowlights) of Motorola's year:
- Feb. 1: Carl Icahn, long agitating for change at Motorola, nominates four directors to the company's board.
- March 26: Motorola announces a major reorganization that would split it into two independent companies by late 2009 by separating its struggling handset business from its broadband and mobility solutions operation.
- Aug. 4: Motorola announces a co-CEO arrangement, in which current CEO Greg Brown took charge of the broadband mobility solutions business and former Qualcomm Inc. executive Sanjay Jha became CEO of the mobile device business.
- Oct. 30: Motorola announces a 31% drop in handset sales and delays its planned handset business spinoff to at least 2010.
The company did improve cash flow in 2008 by
selling assets and
exiting an outsourcing joint venture among
other initiatives, ending the year with $7.9 billion. And Brown said in
announcing fourth-quarter results that previously announced cost-saving measures -- including cutting 4,000 jobs -- will generate $1.5 billion in savings in 2009.
Still, in the current economic environment, the climb back to profitability -- if it's possible at all -- could well be as long and painful as the company's decline.
- Suzanne Stevens
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