Lenovo that tracks the progress of these integrations. Lenovo has an annual meeting where the management of newly acquired companies meets with its top 100 executives. In these meetings, held in English, Lenovo explains its global strategy and how new executives fit into its plans. Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005, including the ThinkPad laptop and tablet lines. Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's personal computer division accelerated access to foreign markets while improving both Lenovo's branding and technology. Lenovo paid US$1.25 billion for IBM's computer business and assumed an additional US$500 million of IBM's debt. This acquisition made Lenovo the
Lenovo on carriers to sell its phones, its phones lacked strong branding and unique features to distinguish them in the competitive Chinese market where a weak economy and saturated market is slowing demand and the culture clash between a more hierarchical PC company and the need to be nimble to sell rapidly-evolving smartphones. In response to the weak sales, Lenovo announced in August 2015 that it would lay off 3,200 employees, mostly in its Motorola smartphone business. In the reorganization which followed, Lenovo was uncertain how to brand its Motorola smartphones. In November 2015, members of Lenovo management made statements that