RIM announces 2,000 job cuts

BlackBerry maker to shed 11 per cent of its workforce as it focuses on 'growth opportunities'

BlackBerry-maker RIM is reducing its global workforce by about 2,000 employees.

The job cuts follow lower-than-expected earnings for Q1 2011, and a reduced forecast for Q2.

The poor performance is on the back of a fall in sales of high-end BlackBerry devices and a delay in the release of a new operating system.

The company announced that the job cuts are being made as part of a "cost optimisation" programme, focused on "eliminating redundancies and reallocating resources to focus on areas that offer the highest growth opportunities".

The 2,000 job cuts account for 11 per cent of RIM's workforce.

"The workforce reduction is believed to be a prudent and necessary step for the long-term success of the company and it follows an extended period of rapid growth within the company whereby the workforce had nearly quadrupled in the last five years alone," the company explained in a statement.

RIM intends to notify affected employees in North America and certain other countries this week, and the remaining countries will be notified in due course.

The firm also announced changes to its management structure, with Thorsten Heins taking on the new role of chief operations officer (COO) for product and sales, after COO Don Morrison announced plans to retire.

Patrick Spence is taking on the role of managing director, global sales and regional marketing, reporting to Heins, and CIO Robin Bienfait is taking on additional responsibilities for the enterprise business unit. She will be heading RIM's efforts in the enterprise sector, with a focus on improving customer service.