Three More BlackBerry Executives Depart As Exodus Continues

BlackBerry has confirmed three more executives are leaving the company as the exodus of upper and middle management at the Canadian firm continues.

Senior vice president of manufacturing Carmine Arabia and vice presidents Doug Kozak and Graeme Whittington are the latest to depart the firm, which is struggling to regain lost smartphone market share with its BlackBerry 10 devices.

The company has not said whether the latest departures are related to the ongoing “three-phase” restructuring programme undertaken by CEO Thorsten Heins, with the ultimate aim of restoring profitability.

Blackberry executives depart

This plan is currently in its second phase and has seen BlackBerry cut thousands of jobs in the last few years after seeing its share of the global smartphone market slide dramatically in the face of competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung.

BlackBerry cut 250 more jobs last month, while it also emerged the man responsible for the BlackBerry PlayBook was leaving the company, not long after it was revealed the tablet would not receive an upgrade to BlackBerry 10, effectively ending support for the device.

BlackBerry’s focus appears to be on its smartphone business, but the introduction of devices running BlackBerry 10 has failed to revive its ailing fortunes and the company posted a £55 million loss in the first quarter of its fiscal 2014.

This has led many investors to question its ability to stage a revival, but Heins has called for patience as he implements his recovery program.

He rejected suggestions the BlackBerry 10 launch had been a disaster, but admitted lessons have been learned and the firm is facing an “uphill battle” in a very competitive market.

Some investors are contemplating the idea of a sale of the company or some of its businesses. BlackBerry’s valuable patent portfolio and high-margin service business could be attractive to potential suitors.

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