Motorola has confirmed that it has concluded a consultation with employees over the future of the Cork site. The majority of the operation's 330 workers will have left the operation by the end of May. An increasingly competitive mobile phone market impacted on Motorola's fourth-quarter performance and profits fell 50pc. As a result the company said that it was laying off 3,500 of its 70,000 workers worldwide. It is grim news for Cork, which has been rocked by a spate of closures fuelled by the rising costs of manufacturing in Ireland. Yesterday, for example, US automotive technology firm Bourne Electronics said it was moving 80 jobs to lower cost locations in Mexico and Hungary. Motorola said this morning that the closure follows extensive negotiations that failed to yield any fruit. "During the consultation period, all parties have worked very hard to ensure that every possible avenue has been explored. Regrettably, none of these offered a viable alternative for continuing Motorola operations at the site.