Motorola Expected To Cut 2,870 Jobs

Wednesday, December 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) â€” Motorola Inc. has agreed to sell a portion of its manufacturing operations, a move that will eliminate 2,870 jobs in Florida, Iowa and Ireland, the company announced Wednesday.

In a major outsourcing deal, the communications equipment manufacturer has agreed to sell for $70 million its manufacturing operations in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Dublin, Ireland, to Celestica Inc.

The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2001. Celestica will continue making some Motorola cellular phone handsets, messaging devices, two-way radio products and radio accessories for at least three years at the Mount Pleasant plant and two years at the Dublin plant.

At the same time, Motorola announced its plant in Boynton Beach, Fla., will cease its manufacturing operations and concentrate on software application, product design and administration, said Margot Brown, spokeswoman for the Schaumburg-based company.

As a result, 670 jobs will be eliminated in Mt. Pleasant, where the operations of two plants will be consolidated. Another 800 jobs will be eliminated in Boynton Beach, and 1,400 jobs will be eliminated in Dublin.

Toronto-base Celestica, a former IBM division, has made similar deals this year with electronics companies that want to outsource some of their manufacturing. The company announced it will offer jobs to 650 people in Dublin and another 550 in Mount Pleasant.

In Florida, 100 employees will be eligible to transfer to Motorola's plant in Fort Worth, Texas, and another 250 will be eligible to transfer to the company's plant in Plantation, Fla.

Motorola has a worldwide work force of 130,000. The world's No. 2 cell phone manufacturer, Motorola estimates it will sell 410 million to 425 million phones this year.

Motorola shares fell $1, or 5 percent, to close at $17.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.