This is the unfortunate news we all knew was coming. RIM has announced that it is cutting 2,000 jobs from its global workforce. Announced in a statement today, the BlackBerry maker stated that the 2,000 jobs represent 11 per cent of its total workforce. RIM's lack of new smartphone releases in the recent months and the slow but steady sales of its PlayBook tablet have impacted the company's bottom line.
The company also announced that its chief operating officer, Don Morrison, is planning to retire, and that Thorsten Heins is taking on the expanded role of chief operating officer for product and sales.
"We thank Don for his outstanding service to RIM. We understand and respect his decision to retire after successfully dealing with a serious medical challenge and we wish him a quick recovery," stated Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, Co-CEOs at RIM. "Don's presence at RIM will be missed, but our senior management and sales teams had already stepped up to manage Don's responsibilities since the commencement of his medical leave and we're confident in the ability of those teams to continue Don's tradition of success going forward."
Thorsten Heins is taking on the expanded role of COO (Product and Sales). All product engineering functions, including both hardware and software teams, are being consolidated under Heins' direction.