Lenovo is wasting little time in moving ahead with a formal reorganization of its smartphone efforts. In reports from Asia, Lenovo executives say the global tech giant is betting its phone efforts on Motorola with that group now taking over design and production. However, there still may be a Lenovo brand. Plus, the Lenovo-owned startup ZUK apparently will remain independent.

In a blog post overnight, Lenovo Mobile Group leader Chen Xudong asked for “patience” as the reorganization takes place. He spelled out three priorities, one of which was not competing on price. He also said there would remain separate Motorola brands.

But what all is happening is not exactly clear.

“The new organizational structure will be immediately released,” Chen had told the Interfaces News agency earlier this week. On Aug. 19 Chen told news media in India that Motorola would be the “one brand” for Lenovo’s phones.

And overnight Wednesday, further reports emerged from Asia saying the reorganization had begun with Motorola President Rick Osterloh designated as the leader.

“Effective immediately, Rick Osterloh, formerly president, Motorola, will be the leader of the combined global smartphone business unit, which will be under Motorola legal entities,” Lenovo reported to NDTV Gadgets in a statement.

Last week, Chen told media in India that the reorganization would lead to just one brand for smartphones – Motorola. But as we noted earlier in a blog post early Thursday, Chen said there still would be two brands.

In the email to NDTV, the Lenovo spokesperson wrote: “MBG will continue to drive Lenovo’s overall mobile business, but will now rely on Motorola to design, develop and manufacture smartphone products.”

Motorola, which is based in Chicago, “will lead the Lenovo Mobile team,” according to NDTV.

However, ZUK, the Lenovo-owned (70 percent) startup in China that is going international with a variety of devices, will remain independent.

Lenovo has not yet posted anything on its website about the changes.

Falling sales, layoffs

The organizational changes follow Lenovo’s most recent earnings report in which the global sellers of PCs, smartphones, tablets and more disclosed that its smartphone business had taken huge losses. With PC and server sales slowing as well, Lenovo Chair and CEO Yang Yuanqing decided to cut the company’s work force by 7 percent, or 3,200 jobs.

Of those, more than 200 took place in the Triangle.

A full 25 percent of Motorola’s headcount in Chicago will be cut, part of Yang’s determination to get costs in line, as he put it.

Chen is leading the effort, having taken over as head of the Lenovo Mobile Group on June 1. That change was the first company acknowledged move made to revamp its mobile device efforts.

Lenovo, the world’s top PC seller, operates its global executive headquarters in Morrisville.