Motorola is poised for heavy cost-cutting in 2002 after announcing its first full-year operating loss since the Depression.
The telecoms group has made a loss for the year of $697 million - £487.7 million - compared to a gain of $2.04 billion.
That's its first annual loss before one-off costs since 1930.
But chief executive officer Mr Christopher Galvin insists the company will return to profitability in the second half of 2002 and post a gain for the full year, barring unforeseen political or economic disruptions.
This is despite a $1.2 billion net loss and $90 million operating loss for the fourth quarter.
But Mr Galvin has indicated that the projected profit is at the cost of more jobs - on top of the 48,000 jobs it has already shed since August 2000.
And analysts agree. They point out that Motorola's revenues are down 25% and a slowdown is continuing in the markets for cell phones and semiconductors, its two main products,
"There are two ways to run your business profitably: one is increasing your revenues and the other is decreasing your costs," said Gartner analyst Phil Redman. "There's probably going to be continued layoffs, because the revenues aren't increasing."
Sales slumped to $7.3 billion from $9.8 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, partly reflecting business writeoffs.
Mr Edward Breen, who took over this month as president and chief operating officer, pointed to a second straight profitable quarter for its long-slumping cellphone division - excluding special charges - as evidence the tech giant is making "good progress" in improving its strategic focus and reducing costs.
Motorola, the number 2 cellphone maker behind Finland's Nokia, estimated it had slightly increased its share of the world to 17 per cent.