Hi-tech firms feel meltdown blues

Hi-tech workers have also started feeling the pinch of the economic downturn with layoffs reaching a historical high.

Chen Lei, spokesman, Motorola, confirmed that Motorola China would be impacted by the company's plan to cut 4,000 employees globally. Of this 3,000 are in the company's handset department. Chen, however, declined to disclose how many people would be laid off in China.

As one of the largest hi-tech companies, Motorola entered China in 1987. The company now has over 10,000 employees in the country, the world's largest mobile phone market.