LG Electronics reportedly lays off 30% of its mobile staff abroad

posted by Victor H. / Sep 08, 2011, 7:03 AM

LG Electronics reportedly lays off 30% of its mobile staff abroad

LG Electronics swang back to profit in the last quarter, but it’s mobile division has continued to bleed cash and the company has reportedly now slashed workforce by 30% at its mobile offices overseas.

The move is a part of a wider reform to optimize expenses and push LG’s mobile business back to profitable. LG’s mobile unit has suffered five quarters of losses in a row. It narrowed down loss nearly twice last trimester but still ended last quarter with $52.5 million in the red.

The layoff plan includes mostly people in the marketing and purchasing resources. Some outlets which haven’t turned profitable will also be suht down, according a report by the Korea Economic Daily. LG is also said to be planning the same measures in Korea.

At the same time, though, the company has written the report off as speculation and declined to comment on rumors.

via: Reuters

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12 Comments

1. ilia1986 unregistered

LG needs to differentiate themselves in the Android department. A couple of semi-unique widgets and a custom icon theme are not enough. Phones which just look a lot like the Motorola ones (aside from things like the Optimus one) are also not helping. Look what SE has done with their Android phones.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 7:36 AM 0

2. PeterIfromsweden

Posts: 1230; Member since: Aug 03, 2011

LG needs to use bada to become competitive again. LG just can't be any different when it comes to Android. When they start making phones with bada, their market share will rise.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 8:24 AM 1

3. wassup

Posts: 565; Member since: Jun 23, 2011

lol i doubt BADA will help LG's market share to rise... stick with android, and you WILL prevail :)

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 8:48 AM 2

4. ilia1986 unregistered

LOL peter. I think that if this was an article about a Football team not winning in enough games - you'd recommend them to install bada as well to make them competitive.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 9:06 AM 2

10. PeterIfromsweden

Posts: 1230; Member since: Aug 03, 2011

Haha, thats funny : P

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 12:56 PM 2

5. SuperAndroidEvo

Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011

LG needs more help than an OS change Peter. LG makes good phones, I don't get why they are struggling.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 9:23 AM 1

9. PeterIfromsweden

Posts: 1230; Member since: Aug 03, 2011

I think the problem with LG has been that they make to little phones. They need to start making lots more phones than they have been doing.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 9:48 AM 1

8. snowgator

Posts: 3624; Member since: Jan 19, 2011

Nah, that would be the worst thing they could do. They need to get out from under Samsung's long shadow- why grab their Korean nemesis's OS? I loved the MeeGo idea for them, but the investment would have been pretty high. Droid and W7 are their best hope.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 9:40 AM 0

11. CooterLooter

Posts: 9; Member since: Sep 08, 2011

Yes peterlfromsweden bada is the best os - apple, blackberry and android will fail.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 6:29 PM 0

6. dumbass unregistered

peter dumbass, needs a lobotomy. and an iphone w/ bada up the pipe.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 9:33 AM 0

12. CooterLooter

Posts: 9; Member since: Sep 08, 2011

RUDE!

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 6:29 PM 0

7. snowgator

Posts: 3624; Member since: Jan 19, 2011

The Revolution my buddy's wife owns is a very good device. The Thrill seems to be good as well. When I went looking at W7 devices, the first one I messed with was the Quantum. I really, really liked it. It started me down the road to wanting a W7. If it had been bad, I would have walked away. It felt really well constructed and was a nice handset. But they do not stand out. ilia1986 is right- if you look like a generic handset, you will get generic results. Also, if I could put my finger on one weakness, it would be some lag in the screen. (Maybe "lag" is the wrong word. More like hesitation?) I have high hopes for the LG Fantasy, which will be their Mango offering, and they are upping their Droid line up to some premium devices. But I really, really hate to hear of lay-offs. The Mobile industry may be the ONLY growing industry right now. If you cannot make a profit in this environment in mobile, you do have problems.

posted on Sep 08, 2011, 9:37 AM 1

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