BlackBerry Axes 250, Tablet Lead EVP Leaves
It's another round of layoffs for the struggling handset maker as it cuts 250 from its R&D department
BlackBerry has laid off 250 people from its New Product Testing Facility as part of its ongoing turnaround efforts, the company confirmed Thursday.
This is the second round of cuts for the struggling device maker, following a much larger restructuring that included 5,000 layoffs last year. BlackBerry confirmed the cuts to the Waterloo, Ont., facility that supports BlackBerry's manufacturing and R&D efforts in a statement to AllThingsD, noting that "this is part of the next stage of our turnaround plan to increase efficiencies and scale our company correctly for new opportunities in mobile computing."
Just prior to the cuts, BlackBerry's tablet lead EVP David Smith also announced he was resigning the company. Once the company formerly known as RIM said it would no longer support its PlayBook tablet, his job may have become a little less necessary. The company also recently lost its U.S. sales chief and two executives in charge of social media and contracts.
BlackBerry is tying its hope of turnaround to its BlackBerry 10 operating system and a renewed focus on services, but it's been tough going. The company only shipped 2.7 million BB10 devices to carriers in their first full quarter on the market and reported weak earnings causing its a 28 percent drop in its share price. (See BlackBerry Hopes Services Will Be its Savoir.) — Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor,Light Reading
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