The launch of BlackBerry 10 early this year
Layoff notices have been given to 250 employees at smartphone maker BlackBerry’s product testing facility in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
The employees, who supported BlackBerry’s manufacturing, research and development efforts, received the notices on Tuesday.
The dismissals are part of BlackBerry’s turnaround plan to improve profits, Bloomberg reported company spokeswoman Lisette Kwong as having said in an email.
The company has been trying to regain a strong foothold in the smartphone market with its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and new range of phones.
Among the departures at BlackBerry is that of David J Smith, an executive vice-president in charge of mobile computing, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Smith, who had been at the company for eight years, resigned for personal reasons within the past few weeks, the report said.
