Former Motorola CFO Paul Liska thought he’d been let go because the company was postponing the spinoff of its cellphone unit. Imagine his surprise when he read in Crain’s Chicago Business that he’d actually been fired for cause.

In a recent SEC filing, Motorola (MOT) said Liska was “involuntarily terminated for cause” and therefore must repay his $400,000 signing bonus and forfeit the stock options he received when he signed on with the company.

An odd disclosure, given the way in which Motorola’s leadership handled Liska’s departure. Asked about the circumstances surrounding his exit on a Feb. 9 earnings call, Motorola co-CEO Greg Brown had this to say:

“[Paul] did a lot of good work here and helped us get a lot of the heavy lifting done around this separation and preparation for separation which–as we talked about–remains the commitment to our strategy going forward and he was also very helpful in getting after along with the businesses and the other leaders in the organization, cost reduction initiatives. That said, I think the business environment’s changed, and given the environmental changes, we thought the change was appropriate at this time as well in that position.”

If that was the case, why was he fired for cause, which Motorola defines as–among other things–”willful and continued failure to substantially perform duties” and “gross misconduct”?

We may soon find out. Liska has reportedly filed suit against Motorola for wrongful termination.

[Image credit: Someecards]

The handset maker this morning said it will cut compensation and benefits packages for its employees in order to “better align with industry norms”–industry norms in Motorola’s case being the ongoing collapse of its post-Razr phone business. To that end, the company will permanently freeze its U.S. pension plans and temporarily suspend all matching contributions to 401(k) plans. It won’t be offering salary increases this year, either. And, in a sympathetic nod to Motorola’s (MOT) long-suffering employees, co-CEOs Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha will take 25 percent salary reductions. Brown will forego any 2008 cash bonus. Jha will forfeit a portion of his guaranteed 2008 bonus equivalent to that and take the remainder in restricted stock.

“The sustained downturn in the global economy requires that we take these difficult but necessary steps,” said Brown and Jha. “While serving our customers remains a top priority, we are equally focused on our cost structure, and we will continue to implement appropriate measures to conserve cash and reduce expenses.”

Happy holidays, Schaumberg.

On the CEO search, we’re making very good progress and I will obviously keep you posted, and when we have something to announce, we will do so accordingly.”

– Motorola CEO Greg Brown, Jul. 31, 2008

When Motorola CEO Greg Brown told investors last Thursday that the company was making progress in hiring a CEO for its mobile division, he wasn’t kidding. This morning the company named former Qualcomm (QCOM) COO Sanjay Jha to the position.

“Sanjay’s technical expertise and industry experience make him ideally suited to lead mobile devices,” board Chairman David Dorman said in a statement.

Great news for Motorola (MOT), which has spent months searching for an executive to run its handset division, with several candidates reportedly refusing the job. With that position finally filled, the company is firmly on track to spin off the division as a separate company in the third quarter next year, as planned.

Then begins the arduous task of reversing the ongoing collapse of the company’s post-Razr phone business and its share price which is down more than 61 percent since Oct. 2006.

Motorola added another dancer to its conga line of disappointing quarters today, posting an ugly first-quarter loss. The ongoing collapse of its post-Razr phone business continued to weigh heavily on the company, which lost $194 million in the quarter ended March 31. That’s significantly worse than its year-ago loss of $181 million. Sales fell about 21% to $7.45 billion, from $9.43 billion a year ago. Mobile-devices losses were $418 million on sales of $3.3 billion, down 39% from the year-earlier quarter.

Suffice to say, the gruesome performance fell short of Wall Street expectations. Motorola (MOT) shares slipped into the mud following the news. They’re trading around $9 right now, down some 4%.

Not to worry, though, says CEO Greg Brown. Motorola, which plans to shed its money-losing handset division in 2009, is well positioned for recovery. “Motorola is still a huge business and an iconic company,” he told USA Today. “I see a vibrant, very successful mobile-device business with a fresh portfolio that is aggressive and competing effectively [in the global market]. These elements, I think, will allow it to compete ferociously in the future.”

“Our decision to separate our Mobile Devices and Broadband & Mobility Solutions businesses follows a review process undertaken by our management team and Board of Directors, together with independent advisers,” CEO Greg Brown said in a release. “Creating two industry-leading companies will provide improved flexibility, more tailored capital structures and increased management focus–as well as more targeted investment opportunities for our shareholders.”

On a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Brown said the decision to carve out its handset business was the result of an evaluation process announced in late January, not a move engineered to appease billionaire investor-provocateur Carl Icahn who sued the company in a Delaware court Monday demanding access to minutes of board discussions about the division’s potential spin-off.

“It was a tough decision because I love the job,” said Zander. “I will be 61 in January and it is time to make way for one of the younger guys.” Sure is. With Motorola’s global market share slipping into the mud–it now ranks No. 3 after Nokia and Samsung with around a 13% share, down from about 21% just a year ago–the company is in desperate need of a turnaround.

Whether Brown’s the guy to do it remains to be seen. Certainly, investors aren’t so sure. “There are some investors who are disappointed that they didn’t bring in somebody from the outside,” Kaufman Brothers analyst Raimundo Archibold told Bloomberg. “This would have been an opportunity to bring in some fresh blood.”

Joan Lappin, president of Gramercy Capital Management, agreed. “I don’t see him as a person who is going to come in and razzle-dazzle the troops,” she said. “He’s kind of a bland guy.”