BlackBerry just cannot get a break these days. On what should have been a day full of good news with the BlackBerry Z30 launch and upcoming availability of BBM for Android and iOS within days, the bad news could not stay away. Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal reports that the company could be readying to cut up to 40 percent of its workforce by the end of the year. That could translate to more than 5,000 job cuts within weeks.
No department will be spared either. The impending cuts will “cut across all departments and occur in waves.” One source added that some employees already know when they will see their positions cut.
Without confirming the 40 percent figure, a BlackBerry spokesperson confirmed that more cuts are coming: “Organizational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing.”
BlackBerry has seen a number of job cut actions in recent months. It let go about 5,000 last summer and smaller actions have followed since, including on in July that saw 250 positions eliminated and a recent one that saw some 60 sales positions cut. Executives have also been leaving in droves as the company’s BlackBerry 10 sales, including those of the BlackBerry Q10, did not materialize the way the company was hoping.
With BlackBerry fully engaged in an “Exploration of Strategic Alternatives” and looking to sell itself in the next few weeks, it’s likely that a smaller company will be easier and likely cheaper for a buyer to swallow up.
Source : The Wall Street Journal