BlackBerry Lays off 250 More Workers

BlackBerry has confirmed that it has laid off 250 more workers. The company has been restructuring extensively in efforts to compete with more successful mobile phone companies, like Apple and Samsung.

All Things D’s John Paczkowski reported, “In a statement to AllThingsD, a BlackBerry spokesman confirmed that the company sacked 250 employees working at a Waterloo, Ontario, product-testing facility this past Tuesday.”

Mashable quoted a BlackBerry spokesperson, who said, “This is part of the next stage of our turnaround plan to increase efficiencies and scale our company correctly for new opportunities in mobile computing. We will be as transparent as possible as those plans evolve.”

Bloomberg’s Scott Moritz added, “The company, based in Waterloo, is also preparing for more executive departures as retention bonuses expire and Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins sets tougher targets for managers, a person familiar with the matter said this month. David Smith, executive vice president of enterprise mobile computing, has resigned for personal reasons.”

The Business Insider’s Steve Kovach noted, “BlackBerry reported disappointing earnings for last quarter. It lost $84 million and reported poor sales of its smartphones running its newest BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system.”