Blackberry said today that it will lay off 4,500 employees, or 40 per cent of its global workforce, as it reports a nearly USD 1 billion second-quarter loss a week earlier than expected.
The stock dropped 23 per cent to USD 8.11 after reopening for trading. Shares had been halted earlier pending the news. BlackBerry had been scheduled to release earnings next week.
But the Canadian company said late today afternoon that it expects to post a staggering loss of USD 950 million to USD 995 million for the quarter, including a massive write down of the value of its inventory due to increasing competition.
BlackBerry said it wants to slash operating costs in half by the first quarter of 2015 so cutting its global headcount to 7,000 total employees is necessary.
APA