BlackBerry cutting staff following buyout rumors

BlackBerry has fallen pretty far since its glory days several years ago. However, the company's brand, along with its thousands of patents, are still worth a fair chunk of cash, which is why we've been hearing about several big tech firms looking in to acquiring the company.

Microsoft, Apple and Lenovo are just some of the big names floating around as potential buyers and now it looks like BlackBerry is attempting to make itself look like more of an attractive purchase by letting go of staff worldwide in an effort to return to profitability.

BlackBerry's most recent device, ‘The Passport' actually sold quite well. 

BlackBerry confirmed the layoffs in a statement sent to Re/code: “We have made the decision to consolidate our device software, hardware and applications business, impacting a number of employees around the world. As the company moves into its next stage of the turnaround, our intention is to reallocate resources in ways that will best enable us to capitalize on growth opportunities while driving toward sustainable profitability across all facets of our business.”

BlackBerry has around 7000 employees and has yet to confirm how many will be let go. However, it will need to be a significant amount in order to return the device division to profitability. Several Chinese manufacturers are looking at BlackBerry as a potential acquisition to help them break in to the American market. Additionally, Microsoft might be looking to boost its mobile division, which currently houses the remnants of Nokia.

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KitGuru Says: BlackBerry might not seem like a smart purchase on the surface, the company has been stuck in a downwards spiral for years and the brand doesn't carry the weight that it once did. However, I'm sure there are plenty of tech companies our there that could find a use for BlackBerry's 44,000 strong patent library. 

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