GOOGLE Inc yesterday said it will cut about 1,200 jobs at its Motorola Mobility unit, including positions in China, just seven months after announcing plans to lay off 4,000 employees.

Google, developer of the Android system for smartphones, bought Motorola Mobility for US$12.4 billion last year.

But the search giant focused more on Motorola's patents in the mobile sector rather than its manufacturing and research facilities. So far, Google has closed manufacturing, sales and research facilities in Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing.

"These cuts are a continuation of the reductions we announced last summer," Motorola Mobility said in a statement. "It's obviously very hard for the employees concerned, and we are committed to helping them through this difficult transition."

The majority of the latest round of layoffs will occur outside the United States. But Motorola Mobility China didn't provide details like how many Chinese staff were cut. In August, Google announced plans to lay off 4,000 jobs, or 20 percent of Motorola Mobility's staff.

The move by Motorola Mobility is aimed at improving product structure and profitability. In recent months, phone makers like Nokia and BlackBerry have also announced layoff plans in the face of great pressure from rivals such as Samsung and Apple, analysts said.

Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility gave it more than 17,000 patents amid the rising popularity of its Android system for mobile phones and tablets.