Electronic Products & Technology

BlackBerry plans to cut jobs globally amid takeover rumours

By Big News Network.com   

Electronics Wireless

Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry has announced it is cutting jobs across its global business units in an attempt to consolidate its software, hardware and applications business, according to specialist online news service Big News Network.com.

The company did not specify how many employees would be affected, but the number is likely to be in the hundreds given the number of people working for the Canadian company, which until a few years ago was the tech giant rival to Apple. BlackBerry reported a 16.8% fall in quarterly revenue in March, and had about 6,225 full-time employees as of February 2015, according to its website.

The company is reallocating resources to capitalize on growth opportunities and achieve profitability across all its business segments, a company spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement in response to questions about the job cuts. The Waterloo ON-based technology company last month announced it was considering closing its offices in Sweden, a move that would result in the loss of up to 100 jobs.

On Friday, the company’s Toronto-listed stock had risen more than 62% in the last 12 months, while the US-listed stock had risen nearly 44% during the same period. The move comes amid rumours of takeover interest from a number of companies. Microsoft has become the latest company to be linked to a potential acquisition of BlackBerry. Microsoft is reportedly looking to boost its position in the enterprise mobile market and has been eyeing up BlackBerry following the company’s recent return to profitability.

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There are reports that Microsoft has gone so far as to hire investment companies to evaluate whether a buyout of the company would make sense. Microsoft could have a bidding war on its hands though, as the reports claims that a handful of Chinese firms including Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi are also interested in picking up BlackBerry.

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