Blackberry ‘guts’ salesforce in HQ

WATERLOO (Canada) — Troubled handset maker BlackBerry has just laid off half of its United States sales team, said various reports.

Cantech Letter, an online tech magazine based in Canada, cites a source based in Waterloo who said the consumer sales team is “gone” and “enterprise (sales) is gutted”.

The source added: “I had 20 guys (from BlackBerry) on BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) from sales, and they have all posted alternate emails on their status.”

The cuts started yesterday (Sept 9) and are rumoured to hit the United Kingdom in a few days, added the source.

The rumoured layoffs in the UK came after a report from the UK’s Sunday Times said Fairfax Financial boss Prem Watsa was considering taking over the company, reported the Cantech Letter.

The Next Web said BlackBerry had confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that “a small number of employees were laid off” without committing to a concrete figure. The WSJ puts the number at “several dozen”, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The layoffs are part of the rolling job cuts that have been ongoing for several weeks, said the sources. BlackBerry said in March that it had 12,000 employees, the last time it had provided a total figure.

The cuts come after BlackBerry said last month it had formed a special board committee to review strategic alternatives, which could include partnerships or an outright sale of the company, said WSJ. AGENCIES