[vanwins]

WATERLOO — Research In Motion has outsourced its information technology service desk to NCR Corp. as part of its ongoing program to slash expenses by $1 billion.

The change affects about 100 employees globally and is part of the BlackBerry-maker’s long-term plan, announced last March, to reduce its workforce by 5,000 people over a 12-month period.

RIM spokesperson Nick Manning would not comment on the move, saying the company doesn’t specify which departments or geographic areas are affected by its cost-reduction program.

But he did confirm that the company’s streamlining efforts are continuing.

“We are continuing to make changes to our organization as we seek to make operational cost savings of over $1 billion,” he said in an email Friday.

Known primarily for its bank machines and cheque-processing systems, NCR also offers IT maintenance support services. The company, based in the Atlanta area, has a research and development centre in Waterloo.

The layoffs at RIM have been hard on the people affected and their families, and RIM appreciates the support it has received from community partners, said Manning, RIM’s global corporate communications manager.

“These are difficult but necessary changes that will help put us on the right footing to launch BlackBerry 10 at the end of the month and deliver real value for our stakeholders now and in the future,” he said.

RIM had completed three-quarters of its workforce reduction program by Dec. 1, chief financial officer Brian Bidulka said on Dec. 20 during a conference call regarding the company’s third quarter financial results.

That means it still has about 1,250 employees to trim in its fourth quarter, which ends March 1.

The company had 13,400 full-time employees worldwide as of Dec. 1.

[BThunderW]

It's unfortunate but necessary to RIM to be able to bounce back. They'll need every penny to get them through fiscal 2013 as right now BB10 is still a gamble. BB10 might be world's best best phone, but that counts for nothing if user acceptance is low.

Look at it this way, if BB10 is a success and RIM spends the saved money wisely marketing it, they'll bring back the support team and then some to deal with the influx of customers.

No company is going to commit to a phone infrastructure if the provider is on the verge of going broke. RIM being financially stable is important aspect of their business plan.

[Dapper37]

^ you nailed it Thunder!

[r0v3rT3N]

Are there any other companies who use NCR for IT?
Is the service any good?

[pmccartney]

It's unfortunate but necessary to RIM to be able to bounce back. They'll need every penny to get them through fiscal 2013 as right now BB10 is still a gamble. BB10 might be world's best best phone, but that counts for nothing if user acceptance is low.

Look at it this way, if BB10 is a success and RIM spends the saved money wisely marketing it, they'll bring back the support team and then some to deal with the influx of customers.

No company is going to commit to a phone infrastructure if the provider is on the verge of going broke. RIM being financially stable is important aspect of their business plan.

Last evening, I was told that the outsourcing was for internal IT requirements and nothing to do with customer support.
Regardless, it's unfortunate that there are still so many job cuts to be made. Its hard to take, when in our region in particular, things have been improving (slightly) for most others, economically speaking.

[RicZoh]

I grew up in Waterloo, home of RIM. There used to be a giant NCR facility at Northfield and Weber (Maybe its moved?). I know, I've taken a couple tours through it back when I was in college the first time around.

I'm not sure if its still there, but if so, then maybe this is a tactful move by RIM & NCR.

Maybe NCR takes the RIM employees from the Waterloo area who'll be affected by these cuts, and gives them the jobs. This would work out for everyone involved. The employee isn't out of work, which I'm sure they'd be very happy about. Especially in today's economy. RIM cuts loose some payroll $$. And NCR ends up with former RIM employees working for them, to handle the new RIM IT contract, with little to no training.

NCR, I believe, is a global company. So, what I said above could apply globally for the other RIM employees effected by this move.

Sent from my Magical BlackBerry Bold 9900

[qbnkelt]

It's unfortunate but necessary to RIM to be able to bounce back. They'll need every penny to get them through fiscal 2013 as right now BB10 is still a gamble. BB10 might be world's best best phone, but that counts for nothing if user acceptance is low.

Look at it this way, if BB10 is a success and RIM spends the saved money wisely marketing it, they'll bring back the support team and then some to deal with the influx of customers.

No company is going to commit to a phone infrastructure if the provider is on the verge of going broke. RIM being financially stable is important aspect of their business plan.

I just kissed your avatar....very tickly.....kinda nice....

Absolute agreement....

[qbnkelt]

Last evening, I was told that the outsourcing was for internal IT requirements and nothing to do with customer support.
Regardless, it's unfortunate that there are still so many job cuts to be made. Its hard to take, when in our region in particular, things have been improving (slightly) for most others, economically speaking.

It's so sad for the people who have been impacted by RIM's precipitous decline. Real lives, real families.
Wishing them the best.

[r0v3rT3N]

It's so sad for the people who have been impacted by RIM's precipitous decline. Real lives, real families.
Wishing them the best.

I'm sure the Ontario government is still helping RIM employees out.
However, the employees not in Ontario, best of luck.

[Skeevecr]

It's so sad for the people who have been impacted by RIM's precipitous decline. Real lives, real families.

It is this side of things that makes me wonder at the mentality of posters (not really on this site but elsewhere) that seem to respond to every piece of bb news with comments like, hurry up and die rim since that is basically laughing at people losing their jobs.

The reality is that whichever company or OS you currently favour, the market overall is better with more options as it pushes the others in the market.

[pmccartney]

I grew up in Waterloo, home of RIM. There used to be a giant NCR facility at Northfield and Weber (Maybe its moved?). I know, I've taken a couple tours through it back when I was in college the first time around.

I'm not sure if its still there, but if so, then maybe this is a tactful move by RIM & NCR.

Maybe NCR takes the RIM employees from the Waterloo area who'll be affected by these cuts, and gives them the jobs. This would work out for everyone involved. The employee isn't out of work, which I'm sure they'd be very happy about. Especially in today's economy. RIM cuts loose some payroll $$. And NCR ends up with former RIM employees working for them, to handle the new RIM IT contract, with little to no training.

NCR, I believe, is a global company. So, what I said above could apply globally for the other RIM employees effected by this move.

Sent from my Magical BlackBerry Bold 9900

Unfortunately, about 6 years ago, NCR - Waterloo outsourced and cut over 400 jobs leaving about 300 staff in this office location. Maybe they will rebuild their numbers to in Waterloo with this arrangement.

[qbnkelt]

It is this side of things that makes me wonder at the mentality of posters (not really on this site but elsewhere) that seem to respond to every piece of bb news with comments like, hurry up and die rim since that is basically laughing at people losing their jobs.

The reality is that whichever company or OS you currently favour, the market overall is better with more options as it pushes the others in the market.

Exactly. Competition pushes innovation which then spurs competition.....

I want all three platforms I currently use kicking each others' behinds....AND the others I haven't tried YET!!!!

[ibpluto]

I grew up in Waterloo, home of RIM. There used to be a giant NCR facility at Northfield and Weber (Maybe its moved?). I know, I've taken a couple tours through it back when I was in college the first time around.

I'm not sure if its still there, but if so, then maybe this is a tactful move by RIM & NCR.

Maybe NCR takes the RIM employees from the Waterloo area who'll be affected by these cuts, and gives them the jobs. This would work out for everyone involved. The employee isn't out of work, which I'm sure they'd be very happy about. Especially in today's economy. RIM cuts loose some payroll $$. And NCR ends up with former RIM employees working for them, to handle the new RIM IT contract, with little to no training.

NCR, I believe, is a global company. So, what I said above could apply globally for the other RIM employees effected by this move.

Sent from my Magical BlackBerry Bold 9900

It's still there, and I suspect those let go from RIM, could easily find there way at NCR. To be honest though, there is a glut of tech opportunities in this area. Between Opentext, Google and all the smaller UofW related startups, most RIM folk land on their feet.

[iphone5fan]

Damn Waterloo will soon be a ghost town

[kbeard26]

Are there any other companies who use NCR for IT?
Is the service any good?

I know IBM does only because I use to work for them. Lenovo would outsource IBM for tech support and IBM would outsource the POS machines for NCR (ATM,cash registers, etc). The next time you go to a grocery store or self check out it will probably say IBM or NCR.

[TomJasper]

Damn Waterloo will soon be a ghost town

Really?

Waterloo Region’s tech sector generates over $30 billion in revenues annually in a community of just 550,000 people. There are close to 1,000 tech companies in the Region, including more than 400 startups.

[TomJasper]

Hardware Maintenance[

QUOTE=vanwins;7826713]WATERLOO — Research In Motion has outsourced its information technology service desk to NCR Corp. as part of its ongoing program to slash expenses by $1 billion.

The change affects about 100 employees globally and is part of the BlackBerry-maker’s long-term plan, announced last March, to reduce its workforce by 5,000 people over a 12-month period.

RIM spokesperson Nick Manning would not comment on the move, saying the company doesn’t specify which departments or geographic areas are affected by its cost-reduction program.

But he did confirm that the company’s streamlining efforts are continuing.

“We are continuing to make changes to our organization as we seek to make operational cost savings of over $1 billion,” he said in an email Friday.

Known primarily for its bank machines and cheque-processing systems, NCR also offers IT maintenance support services. The company, based in the Atlanta area, has a research and development centre in Waterloo.

The layoffs at RIM have been hard on the people affected and their families, and RIM appreciates the support it has received from community partners, said Manning, RIM’s global corporate communications manager.

“These are difficult but necessary changes that will help put us on the right footing to launch BlackBerry 10 at the end of the month and deliver real value for our stakeholders now and in the future,” he said.

RIM had completed three-quarters of its workforce reduction program by Dec. 1, chief financial officer Brian Bidulka said on Dec. 20 during a conference call regarding the company’s third quarter financial results.

That means it still has about 1,250 employees to trim in its fourth quarter, which ends March 1.

The company had 13,400 full-time employees worldwide as of Dec. 1.[/QUOTE]

[shlammed]

Last evening, I was told that the outsourcing was for internal IT requirements and nothing to do with customer support.
Regardless, it's unfortunate that there are still so many job cuts to be made. Its hard to take, when in our region in particular, things have been improving (slightly) for most others, economically speaking.

Yeah, the way RIM works is like 3 different companies:

IT Org. - supports internal IT (Service Desk, Desktop Support, various server support teams like unix and windows teams etc). This org supports mostly internal facing apps but also external facing apps like App World, various RIM related websites, etc.

CSO - Customer Support - call center, etc.

BlackBerry Operations - This is the BlackBerry side of things, meaning mainly anything related to delivering services to your BlackBerry. They have their own NOC, own server support people, own network support people, own storage people, etc.

IT and BBOps were seperated years ago in order to avoid one taking down the other during changes, etc.

[djdnz]

I work at NCR in Waterloo, as far as I can see there's not much room here for additional IT. Our "NCR IT Services" are located remotely, we have very little IT on-site so unfortunately I doubt there will be many job opportunities at this location.

[shlammed]

If it's all remote who exactly is providing onsite support to the employees when **** breaks that can't be fixed remotely?

[scalemaster34]

It is this side of things that makes me wonder at the mentality of posters (not really on this site but elsewhere) that seem to respond to every piece of bb news with comments like, hurry up and die rim since that is basically laughing at people losing their jobs.

The reality is that whichever company or OS you currently favour, the market overall is better with more options as it pushes the others in the market.

Total agree. If the iPhone and Android hadn't come along would RIM have bothered with BB10 at this point?
I just hate that RIM ignored them for so long and wasn't innovating even before they came along. And Microsoft... not sure what they have been thinking all these years. So four major players would be great for consumers. That said... I'm not sure the market will support them.

Apple is doing everything it can to make their platform the only platform. They learn a lot from what happened to them in the computer industry. It's all about the ecosystem and compatibility.

A lot of people believe the HTML5 is going to change everything and we wont use apps, everything will be open and can be run using a regular browser... It IS possible, and it sounds really great - but it isn't going to happen that way. Sure there will be a lot of HTML5 sites, but key apps/features are going to be limited to one platform or another in order to give them an edge.

Imagine if RIM had kept 50% marketshare as the market grew.. all those users on BBM. Who would be willing to give up being able to stay in contact with ALL of their friends for another platform if everything else were equal. That one feature could have helped RIM continue to grow their business. But all things weren't equal, and know the BBM marketshare is less that 10% of the people that have smartphones. Now apply that to the ecosystem that Apple has and the marketshare they control. In a much lesser way you can also apply it to Android - and that is why RIM want to tap Android ecosystem and why it seems some of the newer Android apps don't work on the PlayBook - is Android block the Android Player?

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

I'm at weber and university right now. I think NCR used to be near weber and northfield as well.

[Joe Schmoe69]

So basically....three weeks before the most important product launch in their company's history....they inform the majority of their internal support staff they're out of a job in.....five weeks...? Oh... And Company Policy is to NOT give ANYONE a reference upon departure. So hope to god nothing breaks on the remaining staff in the next month.....because I wager their cries for help will be falling on deaf ears until the scabs take over!! That right there tells you all you need to know about how Thorsten and his 'new management' are driving the company into the ground.

"We have 2+ Billion in reserves and have no debt...we're doing FINE...honest.... but let's just go ahead and cut another what....5? 6 mil a year by slashing our 100+ support team and giving the job to a company that currently services *Cash Registers* and *ATM machines*". Bravo! Outstanding logic there Thor.
By the way....didn't you just GIVE Lazaridis and Balsilie a combined 12 MILLION earlier this year to NOT work there anymore?? But your fine with axing 100 more people (whose decisions DIDN'T drive the company down to 8 bucks a share btw) to save 5 mil out of the 1 BILLION you're trying to cut? I'm no economist, but this absolutely boggles the mind.

And yes, to the poster above....NCR has a local outlet in Waterloo...up near Northfield I believe? If you work at RIMs other offices in Cambridge, Ottawa, Mississauga, Irving, Slough? Yeah....enjoy your 3+ day vacation when your computer bluescreens and you don't have a replacement till your offsite Technical Support SHIPS you one. That is, I guess, until they close THOSE offices as well and consolidate their remaining skeletal staff to the shiny new complex up on ....oh looky.....Northfield!...(don't even get me started on how all these layoffs are affecting the local economy for those businesses on Philip street!)
As far as I can tell from their job page, NCR has yet to post any Waterloo based jobs that relate to the ones RIM just let go in the past few days. And even if they DO...do you think their wages are going to be anywhere close to what the current support staff are getting now? That 50k a year 'career' you had with RIM will be nothing more than a 12.50 an hour call-center job if you want to start working for NCR I imagine. Otherwise outsourcing to them wouldn't have been financially beneficial right?

And from what I gather from my friends who have recently been let go/outsourced in the past 15 months in Waterloo, to the hopeful poster above.....no...the 'Ontario Government' is not 'helping out' those being let go. They're handed their papers, given a stock letter of employment, and told not to take it personally....buh bye. I'm sure they all enjoy being thrown into the Unemployment line and competing with 100s of people from their previous department for the handful of jobs out there currently!! But Thorsten and the rest of upper management want to thank you for all your hard work that led them up to this exciting new launch date.....oh, and by the way 1200+ of you are STILL getting the boot in the next few months......but please keep up the hard work and try not to think about it so we can reach the finish line!!!
How's THAT for incentivizing your remaining staff?

Global Repair Services were outsourced earlier this year. I know someone at RIM who got her papers last November and was told 'your last day is in March and we're outsourcing this whole department...consider this four months head's up as your SEVERANCE.'....(what????) Multiple teams have been gutted to the point where they can't effectively do their jobs anymore. Half of their buildings sit empty, burning through the electric bills just to keep the lights on.....And now internal support is being outsourced? Soon there's going to be nothing 'local' left to this company.
Given the trend to date I wager all *external* customer support is soon to follow.

That is, until the end of 2013 when the company finally goes under and your shiny new BB10 is now a 700 dollar unsupported paperweight.

Nope. After watching how they've treated my friends and their family members that they've let go in the past 15 months, and from the stories I hear of those I know who still work their waiting for the day THEY get let go......these guys won't be getting any of my money ever again. I'm going to try selling off my 9810, and let the 8310 and 9100 sitting in my drawer be a cautionary reminder to not let blind brand loyalty cloud my judgement in the future.

Sorry RIM....just don't have faith in you anymore.

[Barljo]

Outsourcing has many faces. I have been outsourced within the last 18 months. That meant my job, my desk, my everything stayed exactly where it was. The only thing that changed was who paid me each month. Has anyone considered that it may be this type of outsource? I'm supposed to be working right now, so I've only skimmed the article - apologies if it was made clear or clarified.

Either way, as QBN said 'real people, real families', so let's try and keep some respect here I'd say.

[Bla1ze]

So basically....three weeks before the most important product launch in their company's history....they inform the majority of their internal support staff they're out of a job in.....five weeks...? Oh... And Company Policy is to NOT give ANYONE a reference upon departure. So hope to god nothing breaks on the remaining staff in the next month.....because I wager their cries for help will be falling on deaf ears until the scabs take over!! That right there tells you all you need to know about how Thorsten and his 'new management' are driving the company into the ground.

Business is business. People lose their jobs every day over other peoples dumb decisions, It's never cool and it's never easy for those involved. You have a right to be bitter. You don't have a right to be ignorant.. not here anyway. Calm your nerves.