BlackBerry has been on an upward trajectory over the past few months, but news today brings back lingering issues of the Waterloo-based company. According to a report in the CBC, BlackBerry has laid off 120 employees in Waterloo. Apparently the people worked out of the BlackBerry 2 building, which was recently sold to the University of Waterloo.
We reached out to BlackBerry for an official statement and they noted:
“These employees were part of BlackBerry’s product development and wireless technology teams”
“BlackBerry is working hard to return to profitability and we continue to optimize our resources to meet our mandatory operational targets. As such, this week’s employee reductions impact BlackBerry’s U.S. and Canadian operations with approximately 120 employees in the Waterloo, Ontario area. These employees were part of BlackBerry’s product development and wireless technology teams. We recognize our local employees’ hard work on behalf of our company and the difficulty of this news. And we will do everything in our power to treat our employees with compassion, while offering support during this time of transition.”
BlackBerry recently announced a 5-year manufacturing partnership with Foxconn to produce a number of new BlackBerry devices. Perhaps these cuts from the product development and wireless technology teams were shifted overseas.
