Android By Ryan Whitwam May. 30, 2014 1:34 pm
The Moto X had plenty of unique points for Motorola to tout when it was released last year, but one of the most often cited was its “Assembled in the USA” designation. Google opened a manufacturing facility in Texas specifically to build and ship all Moto X units in North America, but now that dream is over. Motorola has announced that facility is shutting down by the end of 2014.
The announcement comes just in time for Lenovo to complete its acquisition of Motorola, but Moto’s President Rick Osterloh told the Wall Street Journal that the move was a response to how “exceptionally tough” the North American market is for smartphone makers. So the company is essentially blaming the closure on lackluster sales of the Moto X, which is the only device manufactured at the plant. Cheaper devices like the Moto G and Moto E are already produced overseas.
The facility will continue to assemble and ship Moto X devices ordered through Moto Maker until the shutdown later this year. At that time, Motorola will shift all its North American manufacturing*overseas. That’s not actually going to be a big change for Motorola — it already makes the international Moto X in China. Only the North American devices*that are assembled in Texas will disappear, but the customization offered by Moto Maker will also be moving to these facilities. Rumors claim*that the upcoming Moto X refresh will offer not just plastic and wood backs through Moto Maker, but leather as well.
There are currently about 700 people employed at the doomed factory, down from a high of several thousand when the Moto X was released. Some of that is probably just due to the ebb and flow of product cycles, but that kind of a drop indicates Google and Motorola have been pulling back on operations there in advance of the closure.
Google might have been able to take the hit on manufacturing costs in exchange for the “made in the USA” sticker, but Lenovo is clearly not interested in inheriting an expensive US assembly plant.
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The announcement comes just in time for Lenovo to complete its acquisition of Motorola, but Moto’s President Rick Osterloh told the Wall Street Journal that the move was a response to how “exceptionally tough” the North American market is for smartphone makers. So the company is essentially blaming the closure on lackluster sales of the Moto X, which is the only device manufactured at the plant. Cheaper devices like the Moto G and Moto E are already produced overseas.
The facility will continue to assemble and ship Moto X devices ordered through Moto Maker until the shutdown later this year. At that time, Motorola will shift all its North American manufacturing*overseas. That’s not actually going to be a big change for Motorola — it already makes the international Moto X in China. Only the North American devices*that are assembled in Texas will disappear, but the customization offered by Moto Maker will also be moving to these facilities. Rumors claim*that the upcoming Moto X refresh will offer not just plastic and wood backs through Moto Maker, but leather as well.
There are currently about 700 people employed at the doomed factory, down from a high of several thousand when the Moto X was released. Some of that is probably just due to the ebb and flow of product cycles, but that kind of a drop indicates Google and Motorola have been pulling back on operations there in advance of the closure.
Google might have been able to take the hit on manufacturing costs in exchange for the “made in the USA” sticker, but Lenovo is clearly not interested in inheriting an expensive US assembly plant.
More...
