Motorola to Cut 4,000 Jobs, Predicts Miss

Motorola (MOT Quote) said it will likely fall short of expectations with its fourth-quarter report as handset sales were impacted continued weakness in consumer demand.

The struggling Schaumburg, Ill., tech giant offered preliminary results for its fourth quarter late Wednesday, saying it expects a net loss from continuing operations in the range of 7 cents to 8 cents a share, including estimate net charges of approximately 6 cents a share in items. On average, analysts expected a profit of 5 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Motorola also said total sales for the fourth quarter should fall in a range of $7 billion to $7.2 billion, falling short of Wall Street's target of $7.51 billion. The shortfall comes as Motorola said it shipped only approximately 19 million units during the quarter. ...