BlackBerry to drop 40pc of workforce by end of year

19 Sep 2013

BlackBerry is reportedly planning to cut 40pc of its workforce by the end of this year, with jobs losses set to hit all departments in waves over the coming months.

The Wall Street Journal cites “people familiar with the matter”, who claim some employees have already been informed which round of cuts will affect them.

At last count in March this year, BlackBerry had 12,700 employees, so a 40pc drop will affect thousands of workers. Based in Ontario, Canada, BlackBerry has already seen its workforce drop from 17,000 employees two years ago as the brand struggles to compete in the smartphone market.

In the second-quarter of this year, BlackBerry achieved just 2.7pc of the global smartphone market share as it continues to fall behind Windows Phone and the colossal gap between it and top platforms Android and iOS widens.

In August, it was believed that the company was considering putting itself up for sale, and just this week it was reported that BlackBerry could be sold in parts to potential bidders.

A BlackBerry spokesperson said, “Organisational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing.”

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com