RIM loses another senior executive

May 28, 2012 By ROB GILLIES , Associated Press

(AP) -- Struggling BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. said Monday that it is losing another senior executive as its chief legal officer is retiring from the company after 12 years.

RIM said that Karima Bawa had been in discussions about her retirement for some time and plans to stay on to help with the transition once a replacement has been hired.

The once-iconic BlackBerry company is facing its most difficult period in its history. RIM is working on launching a new software operating system just as North Americans are abandoning their BlackBerry's for Apple's and smart phones that run Google's software.

The latest departure also comes as RIM is reportedly about to announce a restructuring that could result in thousands of job cuts. The Globe and Mail, citing people close to the company that it didn't identify, reported RIM will soon announce at least 2,000 layoffs.

A RIM spokeswoman declined comment on the report but noted that new chief executive Thorsten Heins said in late March that he would streamline operations and drive efficiency and that the chief financial officer said RIM's goal is to save $1 billion this fiscal year.

RIM has about 16,500 employees, down from a peak of almost 20,000. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company let go 2,000 workers last July.

The retirement also follows the departure last week of Patrick Spence, RIM's head of . A number of executives left earlier this year, including founder Mike Lazaridis and co-chief executive Jim Balsillie. Lazaridis remains on the board.

Heins became RIM's chief executive in January after RIM lost tens of billions in market value.

Explore further: Yahoo CEO to announce 'something special' in NYC

not rated yet
add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

RIM cutting 2,000 jobs, COO retiring

Jul 25, 2011

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced Monday it was cutting 2,000 jobs and that its ailing chief operating officer planned to retire.

RIM releases belated new PlayBook software

Feb 21, 2012

Research In Motion released a free upgraded operating system for its struggling Playbook computer tablet on Tuesday, almost a year later than it first said it would.

New chair tipped to lead BlackBerry maker: report

Jan 03, 2012

A former banker and stock exchange head could become the first-ever independent chair of Research in Motion in a shakeup of the beleaguered BlackBerry maker, a report said Tuesday.

Recommended for you

Canada trying to lure Silicon Valley tech workers

May 17, 2013

(AP)—The Canadian government is trying to lure Silicon Valley tech workers who are frustrated by U.S. visa policies, just as Congress wrestles with a long-sought overhaul of America's immigration system.

Bloomberg appoints ex-IBM CEO as privacy adviser

May 17, 2013

(AP)—Bloomberg LP, the financial news and information service, on Friday said it has appointed Samuel Palmisano, the former CEO of IBM, as an independent adviser on its privacy and data standards.

Apple, US lawmakers in offshore tax showdown

May 17, 2013

Apple and US lawmakers are gearing up for a showdown over taxes—specifically how to deal with the huge stockpile of cash held by Apple and other multinational firms offshore.

Yahoo! sets event amid Tumblr talk

May 17, 2013

Yahoo! scheduled a news conference Monday amid reports it was in talks on with the popular blogging platform Tumblr about an acquisition or strategic alliance.

User comments : 1

Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank

Display comments: newest first

Vendicar_Decarian
not rated yet May 28, 2012
RIM needs to provide people with a reason to purchase their product.

So far they have not done so.

More news stories

German energy shift faces headwinds

Tense engineers have their eyes peeled on complex colour-coded diagrams on a wall-sized screen that makes their control room look like the inside of a spaceship.

Internet in 'coma' as Iran election looms

Iran is tightening control of the Internet ahead of next month's presidential election, mindful of violent street protests that social networkers inspired last time around over claims of fraud, users and ...

China police billions spell profit opportunity

Mannequins in riot gear, armoured cars and drones line a police equipment and "anti-terrorism technology" trade fair in Beijing as vendors seek to profit from China's huge internal security budget.

Heat-related deaths in Manhattan projected to rise

Residents of Manhattan will not just sweat harder from rising temperatures in the future, says a new study; many may die. Researchers say deaths linked to warming climate may rise some 20 percent by the 2020s, ...

Kinks and curves at the nanoscale

One of the basic principles of nanotechnology is that when you make things extremely small—one nanometer is about five atoms wide, 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair—they are going ...