Motorola Israel Ltd. is considering selling its Arad factory or to share it with other manufacturers. The factory employees 500 people, and is the manufacturing core of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) in Israel. Sources at the company said that there are no plans at this time to fire any employees at the facility.
Motorola Israel's goal is to share the factory with other manufacturers, and it has already held preliminary talks with some of them. At this stage, it is not clear who will be responsible for the factory or its employees if the company shares the factory with other manufacturers. At the same time, Motorola Israel has published a request for offers for the factory.
Motorola Israel said in response, "The company is reviewing the status of the Arad factory with regard to the fact that it operates in a competitive and global world. Among the issues under review, the company is considering various options with the intention of boosting the factory's production."
In late December 2009, Motorola Israel announced that it would lay off 20 employees who were working on a project that had been completed, and that another 20 employees would leave upon retirement. The company had previously cut 80 employees at its Tel Aviv headquarters and at the Arad factory early last year. Motorola Israel has about 3,000 employees at its manufacturing, R&D, and services centers nationwide.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 12, 2010
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