[shlammed]

So, unfortunately for some, BlackBerry (RIM) was not done with their down sizing. So far, all I've heard is that the internal IT departments are getting hit hard.

Several friends of mine confirmed that they got the axe and I've seen others tweet about it.

Sad day, but hopefully this is the end.

[duckJAI]

Is there a hard source for this? It could be a handful of people or a huge lump sum. The amount of people will determine if it's an important aspect to keep note of.

[shlammed]

not that I'm aware of but if you know people in IT just start asking and you'll see...

[shlammed]

So far I know about 10 of them personally. Not sure how big of a number it is overall.

[k-dogg]

Heard 1250. I grew up in Waterloo and still have many friends there, that's the word going around there

[FSeverino]

So far I know about 10 of them personally. Not sure how big of a number it is overall.

are they people that worked with OS7?

there is less need for BIS staff now...

[Cracklen]

Doing a simple 'blackberry layoffs 2013' input into google.ca only comes back with olde 2012 related notices. So considering. it is already 1130mst it is likely bull' ( or such a insignificant number to not even warrant media coverage). imho

[Thunderbuck]

are they people that worked with OS7?

there is less need for BIS staff now...

I doubt it's a lack of demand for BIS (since the number of migrating users would still be a drop in the bucket). There would have been some significant activity around the launch, though, and they would have wanted that staff around for at least that time. Now that we're nearing a couple of weeks past the launch it's easier to let them go.

[shlammed]

No, internal IT has nothing to do with BlackBerry development or BlackBerry support.

And for the guy calling me BS, thanks, but I have better things to do than to come on CrackBerry and BS about this. I'm not a new forum member that is posting this out of nowhere.

[joe.miller]

Old news. RIM announced a month or so ago that this would be happening.

RIM outsources IT support to NCR

[shlammed]

If you guys remember, about a month ago there was news that they outsourced their internal desktop and service desk support...I'm guessing this is just adding to that pile.

Not sure if they're planning on outsourcing more or just downsizing more.

[shlammed]

Old news. RIM announced a month or so ago that this would be happening.

RIM outsources IT support to NCR

Not the same...this is another round. These people are not part of desktop or service desk support (see my previous post).

[Blacklatino]

Not the same...this is another round. These people are not part of desktop or service desk support (see my previous post).

D*mn! It's never good news to hear about layoffs no matter who's affected by them.

sent from my sexy PlayBook using Tapatalk2 (*_~)

[rcab]

For those who are loosing their jobs this is terrible news. For the media and the investors it will be interesting if they see this as the ship sinking or find it as a more favorable action. Will it make the new Blackberry to look more solid or to look like an act of desperation.

[shlammed]

For those who are loosing their jobs this is terrible news. For the media and the investors it will be interesting if they see this as the ship sinking or find it as a more favorable action. Will it make the new Blackberry to look more solid or to look like an act of desperation.

There's no doubt that this was planned a while ago...and has nothing to do with BB10. How investors take it (if the news actually makes the media) is another question.

[BaconMunch]

This is not unexpected news, they already stated they had a plan to reduce headcount by 5000 or so, they haven't reached that number yet nor has it reached the deadlines set. Hope those workers will transition well and be supported through this time.

[cgk]

Looking around, everything about this is just a link to here.

[shlammed]

Looking around, everything about this is just a link to here.

I guess you have no friends at RIM

[jimpilot]

Having been through it I can tell you layoffs are not fun. I pray they will find employment with minimum disruption to their lives. .

[vanwins]

Some of my friends too already got a letter that their last day will be end of feb..

[bluetroll]

That's why I got out of IT. It's always on the chopping block. When you don't make the business money, you are expected to save more.

Sorry to hear about the layoffs, I hope they all can find employment quickly. If not, there are always other career paths to explore!

[habs_fan]

Yep a buddy of mine got layed off today he was in the IT dept.

Posted using CrackBerry App on BB10

[vanwins]

Which IT dept got layed off ?

[shlammed]

Various people throughout internal IT...

I've also heard of one or two who weren't in IT so it may not just be IT after all. Looks like it's a smaller number than anything that would get media attention though.

[Whitecaps]

Damn.... How many employees left?