Motorola warns Asian crisis will cut earnings

The US electronics giant, Motorola, jolted by the Asian crisis, warned yesterday that second-quarter earnings could fall far short of expectations and said it would slash its workforce by 10 per cent, or 15,000 jobs. Special charges totalling $1.95 billion (£1.37 billion) would be assessed against second quarter pre-tax earnings. It is unclear what effect this will have on the group's Irish operations where it employs 1,600 people and on its plans for expansion here.