Research In Motion Planning to Lay Off Employees
The BlackBerry smart phone maker, Research in Motion, is reportedly planning to give the axe to 2000 staffers located across the globe. RIM has seen its share of the smart phone market slip dramatically over the last couple of years as competitors Apple, Samsung, HTC and Google gain new customers.
The report was published in Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail on Saturday, May 26 and stated that sources in the company have confirmed that the faltering company will be making the cuts June 1. Pink slips will be handed out to staffers from all departments, including executives, a day before the end of the first quarter. Some sources have stated that the job cuts will be higher than what is being reported and the number could be close to 6000 employees.
Even though there has yet to be any official statement from RIM, the cuts are reported to be a part of a restructuring program. The restructuring is not a new initiative at the company which had similar job cuts last July when 11 percent of job holders were relieved of their positions. The BlackBerry maker had nearly 20,000 employees worldwide at its peak but is currently at a staff level 16,500 which is expected to fall further after the job cuts.
RIM started making changes to its strategy when it started losing market share to competitors like Apple and Google. In the last quarter the issue seemed to have gotten worse as the company declared a net loss of 125 million dollars. This came along with a statement from the new CEO Thorsten Heins that they would be making changes to increase efficiency and save approximately 1 billion dollars.
Cost cutting measures may be the reason behind the departure of employees but high profile executives are also leaving the firm and statistics show RIM losing the battle against competitors who have created an insurmountable lead. The future of the firm seems to be hanging in the balance and the smart phone manufacturer will need innovative new ideas to reclaim its place in the smart phone arena.
