Just because shareholders overwhelmingly approved the renaming of Research In Motion to BlackBerry does not mean that they are happy with the company’s performance. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins tried to calm fears at the company’s annual general meeting, saying that “We’re driving night and day to deliver improvements.” The Wall Street Journal has learned that more restructuring is on its way.
The company’s performance in the US remains a key concern. Despite the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 devices, BlackBerry’s market share is now below 3%. It was over 50% back in 2009. In response, Richard Piasentin, the company’s vice president for US sales, was fired last month. The move was confirmed by the company to The Wall Street Journal.
At the same time, Heins would not call the US launch a disaster. He attributed much of the blame to US carriers whose “opportunistic thinking” has led them to promoting only best-selling devices, namely the Apple iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones.
BlackBerry is also reportedly planning another round of layoffs, this time aimed at middle management in the sales and support divisions. It went through a significant round of job cuts last year and currently employs about 11,000 people.
Heins also reiterated that he is “100% open to partnerships and alliances.” Unfortunately, he would not elaborate on whether BlackBerry was already talking to potential partners or if he was just letting everyone know that his door was open.
Let us know below if you think that BlackBerry can turn it around.
Source : The Wall Street Journal