BlackBerry Hiring as Rivals Downsize

Research In Motion, manufacturer of the BlackBerry line of smart phones, will hire 469 North American workers to add to its global workforce of 12,000.

It will hire 139 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2007, RIM employed only 6,000.

RIM is adding software developers, engineers and salespeople.

Rival Nokia cut 1,700 jobs in January, and Motorola cut 4,000.