14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like BlackBerry laid off around 200 employees from its offices in Canada and the United States. Even though the company hasn't made any announcements initially, as soon as the news made headlines, it issued a short statement confirming the information.
“As BlackBerry continues to execute its turnaround plan, we remain focused on driving efficiencies across our global workforce. As a result, approximately 200 employees have been impacted in Canada and Florida.”
“For those employees that have recently left the company, we know that they have worked hard on behalf of our company and we are grateful for their commitment and contributions,” explains BlackBerry.
BlackBerry is in the process of shutting down most departments that continue to bleed money, and the mobile division seems to have been hit the hardest.
In fact, according to the latest reports, the 150 employees laid off recently come from BlackBerry 10 and Devices teams, which suggests the Canadian company is shifting all resources to Android.
BlackBerry 10.3.3 OS is on track for release in 2016
BlackBerry CEO John Chen has reiterated support for BlackBerry 10 a few times in the last couple of weeks, but the Canadian company has no plans for another BB10 device this year.
On the bright side, BlackBerry 10.3.3 is almost ready and will soon be released to all compatible smartphones in the coming months.
However, aside from software updates, it's unlikely that BlackBerry will continue to add BB10 handsets to its portfolio.
Since many governments and important business clients still rely on BlackBerry 10 smartphones, which are the most secure devices available on the market, the Canadian company will continue to support handsets like Passport and Classic.
The company's first Android phone, the PRIV, has been recently launched in 30 countries, which, hopefully, will help BlackBerry boost its revenue a little.
At least one other BlackBerry smartphone powered by Android operating system will be launched this year, if not two.