BlackBerry is closing its Swedish operations in favor of Israeli ones
B

Shortly after announcing that it was expanding its operations in Israel through the acquisition of WatchDox,ย BlackBerry announced that it will also be shrinking its operations in Sweden. The company began itsย software design operations in the country after it acquired a startup known asย The Astonishing Tribe back in 2010, but now it looks like that’s all coming to an end now as the company focuses on other areas.ย 

Earlier this week smartphone maker BlackBerry confirmed it acquired Israelโ€™s WatchDox to build out its security software business, but it looks like it may be downsizing elsewhere. According to reports from Swedish news sites, BlackBerry is closing down its software design operations in Sweden โ€” a business that grew out of its acquisition of UI startup The Astonishing Tribe in 2010.ย One report from Swedish site 8till5 notes layoffs of 100 in Malmo; other reports from news site Rapidus and financial newspaper Svenska Dagbladet says it will be letting go just over 150 employees: 93 in Malmรถ and 60 in Gothenburg.ย Numerous BlackBerry spokespeople that we have tried to contact to confirm the details have not responded to our requests for comment. When reached by phone, a switchboard operator in BlackBerryโ€™s Swedish office in Malmรถ told TechCrunch that she was instructed not to comment on the report.ย Rapidus and SvD both quote Hans Bjรถrkqvist, a regional manager for the Swedish trade union Unionen, confirming that Blackberry is now in negotiations over closing operations.ย Assuming the numbers are accurate, itโ€™s not clear what operations will be affected, and where that work will shift.

NOTE: TECHi Two-Takes are the stories we have chosen from the web along with little bit of our opinion in a paragraph. Please check the original story in the Source Button below.

Interested in TECHi Feed RSS?

Get the latest insights, tips, and updates on revolutionizing your workspace to your inbox.

Popular This Week