Blackberry Maker To Cut 2,000 Jobs, Splits COO Job

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Although BlackBerrys have dominated the corporate smartphone market, their popularity in the consumer market has been short-lived. Photo re-ality
Although BlackBerrys have dominated the corporate smartphone market, their popularity in the consumer market has been short-lived. Photo re-ality

NEW YORK (AP) - Faced with tough competition and falling profits, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. is cutting 2,000 jobs as part of a cost savings plan announced last month and is shuffling some senior executives.

The job cuts amount to about 10 percent of the company's work force. It expects to give more information on the layoffs when it reports fiscal second-quarter results on Sept. 15.

Its U.S. shares fell $1.24, or 4.4 percent, to $26.67. The shares are close to their five-year low of $25.60, hit last Wednesday.

Although BlackBerrys have dominated the corporate smartphone market, their popularity in the consumer market has been short-lived. While RIM's sale are still growing thanks to BlackBerry adoption overseas, U.S. consumers have moved on to phones with big touchscreens like Apple Inc.'s iPhone and various models that run Google Inc.'s Android operating system are dominating that market.

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