UPDATED: Motorola Sacked Financial Officer "for Cause"

When Motorola announced its financial results last month, they also announced without elaborating that the Chief Financial Officer, Paul Liska was leaving the firm with immediate effect. It has now been confirmed via a regulatory filing that he was effectively sacked - or "involuntarily terminated for cause" as the filing puts it.

As his employment was terminated for cause, he lost his stock options and potential severance payment. He will also be required to repay a US$400,000 golden hello offered when he took the CFO post last March. His base salary was US$750,000 - but took no bonus last year.

Prior to joining Motorola, Mr. Liska had served as an industrial partner for various private equity firms including MidOcean Partners, CVC Capital Holdings and Ripplewood Holdings.

Senior vice president and corporate controller Edward Fitzpatrick has assumed the additional role of acting Chief Financial Officer while a replacement is found.

However, later in the day, Mr. Liska issued a statement denying that he had been dismissed "for cause" at the time.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Liska said he was fired on Jan. 29, shortly after a board meeting. "For approximately the next three weeks, I and my attorney had been told I was terminated without cause," according to the statement, in which he stressed "without." "Neither I nor my attorney have been contacted about this 180-degree change in Motorola's representation concerning my dismissal."

Posted to the site on 5th March 2009