BlackBerry makes global job cuts

Still struggling despite assurances from CEO John Chen that he will return the handset business to profitability, BlackBerry announced today that it was making global job cuts. While the exact number of employees receiving a pink slip was not revealed, the company is looking to consolidate the handset, software and applications businesses. As of February, the latest month for which data is available, the company had a head count of 6225 full-time employees.

BlackBerry continues to lose market share in the global smartphone arena and even the unique BlackBerry Passport and the old-school BlackBerry Classiccouldn't revive sales. The most recent release from the manufacturer is the BlackBerry Leap, a low-to-mid-range model with a 25-hour battery life. With BlackBerry 10.3.1 out of the box, the Leap comes with BlackBerry Assistant, the Android flavored Amazon Appstore, BlackBerry Blend and more.

Amid rumors that Microsoft and Xiaomi are both interested in buying BlackBerry, the company's stock is up 44% in the U.S. over the last 12 months. To be fair, rumors about a BlackBerry takeover seem to start spreading every few months. Back in January, there was talk that Samsung would buy BlackBerry for $7.5 billion; of course, that rumor never came true.

source: Reuters