Motorola Mobility Headhunters Want Canadian Scalps From BlackBerry

Motorola Mobility is reportedly looking to profit from the demise of BlackBerry with plans to set up a new hub in the struggling phone maker’s home town of Waterloo, Ontario in the hope of attracting some of the talent affected by recent massive lay-offs there.

Google-owned Motorola confirmed the plans to Reuters, but did not mention BlackBerry specifically, only that it was looking at the pool of engineers and computer scientists in the region.

BlackBerry is but one of a number of technology companies in Waterloo, attracted by the University of Waterloo’s highly rated technology courses, and there are believed to be around 30,000 people employed in the industry.

BlackBerry’s Waterloo

The vast majority of these companies are startups though and the local economy is expected to take a massive hit from the ongoing job cuts at BlackBerry, with more layoffs expected if Fairfax Holding’s $4.7 billion bid for the firm goes through.

Last week, BlackBerry announced it would slash 4,500 jobs, or 40 percent of its global workforce, as it sought to reduce costs and make it more attractive to buyers. It is understood that Motorola’s recruitment drive will not come close to employing all the staff leaving BlackBerry, but other technology companies are also looking at expanding to Waterloo to take advantage of the local talent pool.

Google’s purchase of Motorola was widely seen as a move to gain access to the company’s extensive patent portfolio, but the search giant has so far paid modest attention to the smartphone business. Any recruits hired by Motorola could help it to better compete with other Android manufacturers such as Samsung.

The only major smartphone to have been announced since the takeover is the Moto X, a US-assembled handset, that boasts ‘touchless’ controls and an array of customised design options.

BlackBerry has had a bumpy year! Try our 2013 BlackBerry quiz!