BlackBerry Confirms 4,500 Job Cuts, Warns of $950 Million Loss 120
An anonymous reader writes "Today BlackBerry announced that it expects its quarterly net operating losses to be somewhere between $950 million and $995 million. It also confirmed earlier reports that it would be cutting 4,500 jobs, roughly 40% of its total workforce. 'The loss is mainly the result of a write-off of unsold BlackBerry phones, as well as $72 million in restructuring charges. The company said that it would discontinue two of the six phones it currently offers.' According to the press release, BlackBerry is going to 'refocus on enterprise and prosumer market.' 'The failure of the BlackBerry 10 line of phones quickly led to speculation that the company, like Palm before it, would be broken apart and perhaps gradually disappear, at best lingering as little more than a brand name.'"
It's a real shame, but their own damn fault. (Score:5, Interesting)
RIP BlackBerry.
too much credit to Blackberry (Score:5, Interesting)
You're giving Blackberry too much credit here...a company of thousands doesn't get "distracted"...the decision makers may be completely out of touch with their market or now technology works...that sure is possible...but a company can't get "distracted" any more than it can "take a shit"
You talk about Apple as if the iphone is all just bullshit eye candy...
the iphone was better in practically every way...because Blackberry sucked at R&D
they had alot of users b/c for a long time their phones were the only game in town to send email and *also* another big factor is their 'enterprise' deals where they'd sell work phones to big companies on contract, ergo employees get company Blackberries
**that's** why Blackberry had users...and profits
their product was never actually competitively better and they didn't pioneer a market...just offered a service on a device first (email)...that's not really innovation
Re:too much credit to Blackberry (Score:2, Interesting)
"just offered a service on a device first (email)...that's not really innovation"
So what is "innovative" if offering a service no one else had for years is not?
"their product was never actually competitively better" Didn't you just say they were there first? So was there competition or not? A number of devices tried and failed to beat BB at the email game.
BB was the workhouse device for many years, now i agree they are dying but your comments are nonsense and overlook the past.