RIM can't expect a government bailout

Capping off an ugly week for RIM, Canada's finance minister has affirmed that the troubled BlackBerry maker should not expect to be bailed out by his government.

RIM has this week warned it expects to report its first operating loss in seven years for the current quarter, flagged a new round of layoffs that will affect thousands of jobs, and revealed it has hired a team of financial advisers to help it evaluate options for a turnaround.

The vendor only announced that “significant” job cuts are planned, without giving a figure. But various reports suggest that RIM could cut between 2,000 and 6,000 jobs in a downsizing that could occur as early as this month.

The company has meanwhile hired J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets to help evaluate options including partnering with other companies or licensing BlackBerry software, Associated Pressreported.

While RIM gave no mention of pursuing a sale, CEO Thorsten Heins did not rule out such an option in a recent earnings call.

Market watchers increasingly expect a sale to be an option RIM might have to take, but are also sceptical whether anybody is interested in buying, according to Reuters.

In the wake of RIM's announcements, its Nasdaq stock price has fallen from $11.05 at the start of the week to $10.33 at market close on Thursday.

On Thursday, Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty added to RIM's woes by tellingThe Canadian Press the company is unlikely to be getting a federal bail-out

Flaherty said RIM is an important company for Canada, but added that RIM needs to reorganize to regain profitability, and that it needs to do so on its own.

Source:

telecomasia.net

Dylan Bushell-Embling