Just a few months ago, Google and HTC announced a deal that would see HTC sell a big chunk of its phone division to Google for $1.1 billion. Today, Google announced that the deal has closed, and the HTC employees are officially joining Google.
For HTC, the deal is a big cash infusion at a time when the company is struggling financially. WIth HTC burning through about $75 million each quarter, Google's money gives it over three years of money to burn at the current rate. The move should also cut costs for HTC: the
2,000 employees leaving for Google represent half of HTC's R&D group and 20 percent of its 10,000 employees. HTC claims it will continue to compete in the smartphone market, even with this huge of a staff cut.
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