RIM suffers another blow

Bad news for BlackBerry launch, workers.

RIM has revealed it will slash more jobs than expected from its global workforce in an effort to cut costs.

The company this morning announced around 30 percent of its workforce would lose their jobs this year.

It originally forecast cuts of at least 11 percent, or 2000 workers, as part of an effort to save $1 billion in operating costs. 

RIM today also announced the launch of its next-generation BlackBerry devices, originally slated for late 2012, would be pushed back to next year, reports Reuters.

It said the endeavour had proven to be “more time consuming than anticipated,” blaming integration of new features and a huge volume of code.

The BlackBerry maker reported a $US2.2 billion ($A2.1 billion) drop in net profit for the 2012 financial year. It is reportedly considering selling off its struggling mobile business.

RIM this week posted a net operating loss of $US192 million, or 37 cents a share, for its last quarter, in line with company expectations.

Its smartphone shipments also plummeted, down almost half from the year-ago quarter to 7.8 million.