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Amid Restructuring, Blackberry Calls for More Layoffs

Blackberry is laying off an undisclosed number of employees as it continues to consolidate its hardware, software, and applications businesses.

May 24, 2015
Blackberry Classic

Blackberry has turned to layoffs in an attempt to maximize the company's ability to make its device business profitable. The company didn't indicate just how many people were being let go in its latest round, but they come from a general consolidation of its hardware, software, and applications business.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, the move comes shortly after Blackberry announced that it was considering closing its Sweden office. However, it's unclear just how many layoffs, if any, affected said office this time around. Blackberry representatives wouldn't confirm whether that office was hit harder than most, or whether it suffered any disproportionate amount of layoffs compared to others.

"As we continue executing our plan for BlackBerry's turnaround, we remain focused on driving efficiencies across our global workforce. As the Company moves into its next stage of the turnaround, our intention is to reallocate resources in ways that will best enable us to capitalize on growth opportunities while driving toward sustainable profitability across all facets of our business," reads a statement from Blackberry.

"As a result, we have made the decision to consolidate our device software, hardware and applications business, impacting a number of employees around the world. We know that our employees have worked hard on behalf of our company and we are grateful for their commitment and contributions."

BlackBerry's latest earnings report put the company at $28 million in fourth-quarter net profit, which is a pretty good turnaround compared to the $148 million loss the company enjoyed one year prior. Blackberry's revenues came in under analysts' expectations though, reaching just $660 million versus an expected $786.4 million.

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"I am very pleased to report that our financial house is in order. Our financial viability is no longer in question," said John S. Chen, BlackBerry CEO, at the time.

According to Chen, in a February interview, BlackBerry is "a little ahead of our two-year turnaround and strategy." The company plans to release four new devices this year and prioritize its software business—which likely has more of a chance to succeed than the company's handsets.

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