Google’s Motorola buy closing this week, layoffs likely coming (report)

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will finally close this week and some of Moto’s staff could be axed in the process, according to a TechCrunch report.

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Chinese antitrust authorities approved the $12.5 billion deal Saturday, clearing the final hurdle for the deal to go through. In February, both European Commission and U.S. Department of Justice cleared the deal, even though there were apparent concerns that Motorola could be given unfair advantage when it came to the popular Android mobile operating system that is developed by Google and embedded in Motorola phones and tablets.

Now the Motorola deal will finally (for real this time!) close in the next two business days, according to an 8-K form filed by Motorola. The company’s statement does not mention layoffs, but Google has laid off staffers from big companies it has acquired before, including DoubleClick, as noted by TechCrunch’s report.

When the deal does close later this week and Google decides to talk more about how it will fold Moto in, we will let you know. Stay tuned.

Original photo: Simon Law/Flickr