Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has announced that it is cutting 300 staff from its Waterloo outfit this week as part of a restructuring effort. Earlier this month the company announced that it would seek to rid itself of around 40% of its workforce as it tries to bring costs under control in order to make itself a more attractive buy for prospective investors. The news was picked up by local media source CBC.
The entirety of the job-cutting program amounts to 4500 employees, including the 300 the company just announced it would be laying off at Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) headquarters in Waterloo. The company said that the layoffs would be occurring this week. The layoffs are part of a transition that might see the company disappear off of the public market in less than a week.
Blackberry layoffs
These layoffs are part of the wider Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) plan to restructure its entire business in order to save itself from extinction. The company has made its BBM unit, which just launched BBM for Android and iOS, a standalone part of its business. The release attracted more than 10 million users in the first day it was on the market.
Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is changing, and it needs to work on its cost structure in order to save itself. In a statement sent by email to CBC the company said, “As previously mentioned, we are in a period of transition and we must focus on enhancing our financial results to be in a better position to compete in this current mobile environment.”
Blackberry sale
Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has been on sale for a long time. The company has accepted an offer from shareholder Fairfax Financial that would see Prem Watsa’s firm acquire Blackberry for $4.7 billion. Watsa has until November 4 to finalize the deal, but there may be some obstacles in the way. He will need to secure financing to complete the deal.
Apart form Mr. Watsa, other names have been bandied about in connection with Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). Two of the company’s founders, Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, have said they are interested in bidding for the company. There is no telling where Blackberry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) will be in five years time, but it’s certainly clear that many of the company’s employees will be elsewhere.
