Motorola has informed the Securities & Exchange Commission that it will be spending an additional $110m laying off staff in the first quarter of 2009, bringing the total to $216m.

The filing explains that since the last filing, at the end of January, the company has approved 2,800 "workforce reductions". These will cost it $110m in severance, plus another $13m in broken contracts with other businesses, in the continuing effort to cut $1.5bn from the annual running costs.

Motorola's handset business is in freefall, the firm having failed to find a buyer or even effectively parcel it up for sale. The sad thing is that if you ignore the handset side, then the company is doing pretty well providing infrastructure to network operators around the world.

We'd love to tell you more about what's going on inside the handset division, but our contacts within the company have been deserting the business like jet-ski-equipped rats. ®

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