Smartphone maker BlackBerry announced on Friday that it will soon lay off 4,500 employees - about 40 percent of its workers - in an attempt to curb costs as the company struggles with business.
BlackBerry reported that it calculated a quarterly loss between $950 million and $995 million for this year's salews, the New York Times reported. This loss can be attributed to a write-off of BlackBerry phones that were never sold, in addition to a $72 million fee for restructuring charges. The company also said that it intends on stopping production of two of the six phones it currently sells.
BlackBerry, a company that once led the smartphone market, held 51 percent of the North American market four years ago. Research firm Gartner reported that the accelerated nature of the industry, particularly due to big guys Apple and Samsung, ended up leaving BlackBerry in the dust.
Consumers started favoring smartphones that offered full touchscreens, a wide range of apps to choose from, and a handful of different cameras. Meanwhile, BlackBerry phones remained pretty much the same, with their signature half-screen, faulty track ball and button keyboard.
When BlackBerry introduced a bid to reverse dismal sales with their 10 line of phones, sales remained fairly low. The newest phone in the line, the Z30, didn't gain much traction in the tech world, perhaps due to the release of Apple's new iPhone and iOS7 software.
The 10 line of phones flopped, and this led to whispers that the company would be severed and perhaps have to eventually close its doors.
This past summer, BlackBerry told the public that it was embarking on a review of strategy. Some analysts considered this to be a hint toward potential sale of the company. But no prospects have been announced.
Last year, CEO Thorsten Heins tried to cut costs at BlackBerry by taking $1 billion off the company's books, laying off employees and closing several factories, the Wall Street Journal reported.
