(Yicai Global) March 12 -- Lenovo Group Ltd. has denied media reports that it has laid off half of engineering staff at its Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. unit in Chicago, US, adding that the recent adjustments will not affect the development of the firm's flagship Moto Z smartphone model.

The Beijing-based firm's operational adjustments to organizational structure and personnel were based on its business plan, Chinese news outlet National Business Daily reported.

Recent media reports suggest that the Beijing-based firm had laid off half of employees at Motorola's Chicago headquarters on March 11. putting the development of the Moto Z-modular mobile phone in jeopardy.

"In late 2017, Lenovo announced a worldwide resource action that would occur over the next several quarters, and impacting less than two percent of its global workforce," the firm said in a statement. "This week's employment reductions are a continuation of that process. We are reducing our Motorola operations in Chicago. However this did not impact half of our workforce there and our Moto Z family will continue," it added.

Motorola has undergone several management reorganizations and layoffs at its smartphone businesses since the Chinese firm took over Motorola Mobility from Alphabet Inc's Google in a USD2.9 billion deal in 2014.