Research in Motion has a new round of layoffs approaching, as a mainstay of congressional communications could layoff over one-third of its workforce.
RIM could layoff as many as 6,000 employees due to low sales numbers, according to the Financial Post. Earlier reports indicated that only 2,000 of the companies 16,500 employees would be laid off. RIM warned investors yesterday to expect a loss when first quarter earnings are announced next month.
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“The strategic question is: are you accelerating into a better future or shrinking to a niche operation,” Reuters quoted a source on the RIM story as asking.
If RIM does not face a better future, the change could have a significant effect on congressional staffers. Blackberry accounts for 9,199 of the 11,639 smartphones used on the U.S. House of Representatives network, according to the Chief Administrative Officer of the House. Variations of the iPhone are used by another 2,198 people; just 244 Androids operate on the House network.
RIM is still hiring employees involved in the launch of the Blackberry 10. “While there will be significant spending reductions and head-count reductions in some areas throughout the remainder of the fiscal year, we will continue to spend and hire in key areas such as those associated with the launch of BlackBerry 10, and those tied to the growth of our application developer community,” CEO Thorsten Heins said in a statement.
