[TORONTO] BlackBerry Ltd is firing 75 employees at its Florida office and a "small" number in Waterloo, Ontario, as the smartphone and software maker continues its efforts to trim costs.
BlackBerry's job cuts at its Sunrise, Florida, location will take place this month, according to information posted by the state's Department of Economic Opportunity on its website.
"A small number of employees have been impacted in Waterloo and Sunrise," the company said in an e-mailed statement.
BlackBerry is working to make itself profitable over the long term by building up the software business and cutting costs as smartphone sales continue to shrink. The Waterloo, Ontario- based company pivoted to making phones with Google's Android operating system instead of its own BB10 operating system last year.
BlackBerry fell 3 per cent to US$7.18 at 1:27 pm in New York. The company had dropped 20 per cent this year through Thursday's close.
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