Layoffs at RIM begin

Hopes to save $1bn.

As part of a larger restructuring effort to cut costs and breathe new life into its struggling BlackBerry smartphones, RIM has initiated a wave of layoffs expected to continue throughout the year.

"Small batches" of 10 or so employees are being laid off at a time throughout a range of departments, including operations and quality control, reports the Wall Street Journal.

RIM has not specified how many layoffs it plans to make but did warn of possible workforce reductions, along with lower-than-expected first-quarter financial results, last month. 

According to RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, the company will continue to invest in resources for software development, as it preps for the launch of BlackBerry 10, its next-generation mobile operating system, later this year.

"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," Heins said in an earlier statement.

Several RIM executives, including global sales head Patrick Spence and chief legal officer Karima Bawa have left the company over the past few weeks. During RIM’s fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts in March, it also revealed the departures of CTO David Yach and COO Jim Rowan.

The struggling BlackBerry maker hopes its restructuring efforts will yield $US1 billion in cost-savings by the end of its fiscal year.

In addition, RIM is placing its bets on BlackBerry 10, a platform that will usher in a new wave of BlackBerry smartphones with updated features including a virtual keyboard and the ability to run certain apps from Google’s Android OS.

This article originally appeared at crn.com