Blackberry to cut 4,500 jobs

Canadian company Blackberry has announced it is planning to cut 4,5000 jobs amid second-quarter earnings plunge.

The smartphone maker has anticipated a loss of as much as USD 995–a loss that has been attributed to disappointing sales of its new Z10 model smartphone.

The company released a new version of its handset, the Z30, which was praised by observers but was nonetheless overshadowed by Apple’s launch of iPhone 5s and 5c.

“The company has sailed off a cliff,” BGC technology analyst Colin Gillis told the BBC.

“This is the quarter where Blackberry as you used to know it is no longer.”

In a statement on Friday, Blackberry’s chief executive Thorstein Heins said: “We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability.”

“Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user.”