BlackBerry plans to lay off as much as 40% of its employees: report

TORONTO—BlackBerry could lay off as many as 5,000 employees in the coming months in an effort to return the smartphone maker to profitability, according to a media report.

The Wall Street Journal says executives are preparing to reduce the company’s staff by as much as 40 per cent before the end of the year, citing people familiar with the matter.

BlackBerry declined to directly address the reported number of potential layoffs.

“Organizational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing,” spokesperson Rebecca Freiburger said in an emailed statement.

BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins is moving ahead with a three-stage plan designed to make the struggling Waterloo, Ont.-based company profitable again.

In the most recent quarter, BlackBerry posted an $84-million loss as it faced costs from the launch of its new devices and underwhelming shipments to stores.

The latest financial results will be released Sept. 27.

BlackBerry had 12,700 employees worldwide at the start of March, though the company has been trimming its operations over the past few months.

In July, the company gave layoff notices to 250 workers at its product testing facility in Waterloo, and followed up with cuts of about 60 employees, mostly in its sales department, earlier this month.

Throughout the summer it also saw the departure of several mid-level executives who were responsible for the launch of the new BlackBerry operating system and the PlayBook.

Those reductions came on top of the 5,000 jobs the company has cut since it launched a restructuring effort last year.