Loss-ridden BlackBerry plans to dismiss 4 500 employees | business

Sun, 22 Sep, 2013 12:00:34 AM

Loss-ridden BlackBerry plans to dismiss 4 500 employees

FTimes News Desk, September 22

A technology representative demonstrates the Blackberry Z10 smartphone using Blackberry 10 operating system in this April 16, 2013 file photo in Washington, DC. BlackBerry on September 20, 2013 said it would cut 4,500 jobs as the struggling Canadian smartphone maker retrenches in the face of hefty losses and weak sales of its new handsets. BlackBerry said it expects a loss of $950 to $995 million in second quarter. The company's highly-publicized launch of the BlackBerry 10 earlier this year failed to ignite sales. The company has said it is examining "strategic alternatives," including a possible sale of the company. Photo AFP / Lehtikuva

The Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is planning to lay off 4 500 employees, news agency STT reported quoting AFP and Reuters.

The number of redundancies is about 40 per cent of the company's current workforce.

The hugely popular downhill drifted company has been unable to improve on their mobile phone sales, and its losses in the second quarter turned billion dollars, or about 739 million euros. Analysts described the figures released to the public now worse than was thought.

The company says that it will reflect a variety of strategies, one of which is the possible sale of the company.

BlackBerry's share of the global smartphone market in the second quarter was only slightly less than four per cent.

Finland Times