WATERLOO, Ont. – BlackBerry is set to deliver its latest quarterly financial results this morning as the technology company makes further job cuts across its operations.
Analysts are setting the bar low for the second quarter report, due before stock markets open, with a projection of another small loss and disappointing revenue figures, as the company that once focused on smartphones shifts more attention to its software business.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based company has issued widespread layoff notices to its workforce this summer.
Over the past few weeks, those reductions have centred on deep cuts to its hardware development and manufacturing business as it puts a lower priority on smartphone development, according to two sources who were familiar with the cuts.
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Some of those employees have been told they will lose their jobs in November, one of the sources close to the matter said.
The sources both say hundreds of additional jobs have been quietly shed over the summer, affecting offices in Ottawa and BlackBerry headquarters in Waterloo, in particular. More recent cuts have also impacted BlackBerry manufacturing facilities in Cambridge, Ont.
The company, which confirmed some job reductions earlier this summer but refused to disclose numbers, declined late Thursday to say how many jobs were part of more recent cuts.
BlackBerry said it had 6,225 full-time global employees as of Feb. 28, its most recent filing with regulators, but though those employee numbers are likely much lower after various other waves of cuts throughout its international operations this year.
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Chief executive John Chen has focused on reworking the company’s priorities since he joined in November 2013, with tight cost management and cheaper smartphone production being two major priorities.
He has also started bulking up BlackBerry’s assets with the US$425-million acquisition of Good Technology, a California-based software company, earlier this month and AtHoc, a provider of secure, networked crisis communications that will be integrated into the company’s lineup of offerings for business customers.
Analysts expectations, on average, point to BlackBerry reporting a second-quarter loss of nine cents per share on about $611 million in revenue.
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