Google is cutting about 4,000 jobs at its Motorola Mobility cellphone business and will close or consolidate about one-third of its 90 locations.

The reductions represent about 20 percent of Motorola Mobility's 20,000 employees, and 7 percent of Google's overall work force. Two-third of the job cuts will take place outside of the U.S., Google said.

The job eliminations come three months after Google bought the once-dominant U.S. cellphone maker for $12.5 billion, chiefly with a view to using its large patent portfolio to bolster its legal defenses.