RIM to Cut 2,000?

Some of you may know Research In Motion Ltd. Those of you who do not have most likely have at least heard of their flagship product, BlackBerry. For those of you who are not up on the world of mobile technology here is a look at how the company describes itself, “Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.”

Well it looks like Research In Motion is about to put some of its staff in motion, the kind of motion that brings them to the unemployment line. According to reports being made around the web the company is getting ready to cut back on between 2,000 and 6,000 of its workers. If that seems like a wide range to you don’t worry, you’re not alone. The 2,000 number comes from the Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper that first broke the story. The 6,000 worker estimate comes from reporters at Reuters who despite confirming the minimum number of 2,000 jobs to be lost wrote, “One source close to the company told Reuters the impending layoffs could hit as many as 6,000 people and affect RIM’s legal, marketing, sales, operations, and human resources divisions.”

The one thing that all of the sources seem to agree on is the date. According to all of the unnamed sources the workers at Research in Motion who are going to be cut will know who they are by the 1^st of June, the end of the companies Q1, which leaves impacted workers with little to no time to prepare for the cuts.

The only exception may be for workers who qualify as part of a mass layoff action. For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the government defines it, “Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period. Extended mass layoff numbers (issued quarterly) are from a subset of such establishments—where private sector nonfarm employers indicate that 50 or more workers were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days.” Though this protection would only apply to workers in the US and Research in Motion is a global company. Workers in other areas of the world may not enjoy the extended notice time that a mass layoff action in the US gives workers. Though in the current economy it is not clear if these kinds of extensions actually give workers time to prepare or if they simply prolong the march towards the inevitable.

Currently RIM employs about 16,500 people.