BlackBerry to cut 40% of workforce

BlackBerry, the telecommunication company, is preparing to cut its workforce by two fifths by the end of the year.

According to the Wall Street Journal the layoffs will cut across all departments and occur in waves, likely affecting several thousand workers.

A BlackBerry spokesman told the American daily newspaper that "organisational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing," but didn’t comment on the 40% figure.

This comes as the mobile phone manufacturer has struggled in recent years to hold on to smartphone market share against competitors like Apple and Samsung.