Research in Motion will cut 2,000 jobs to offset slowing sales of its once-iconic BlackBerry smartphones.
The Canadian company is seeing weaker demand for BlackBerry phones, amid increasing competition from Apple's iPhone and other rivals. It recently introduced a new Playbook tablet computer and is preparing to start selling a new version of its Bold phone.
"They need to find a way to make consumers get excited about RIM products," Evercore Partners analyst Alkesh Shah told Bloomberg News. "At this point they haven't gotten there."
RIM has quickly expanded a research facility in Cary during the past year. In April, the company disclosed that it employs about 200 people locally.
It isn't clear whether any local jobs will be affected in the cuts, which RIM announced last month without disclosing a specific number. A company spokeswoman declined to comment, but noted that RIM expects to disclose more details when it reports second-quarter earnings on Sept. 15.
A 10 percent hit in Cary would amount to about 20 jobs.
Following the layoffs, RIM's global workforce is expected to be about 17,000 people.
The company's stock, down 52 percent in the past year, fell $1.24 today to close at $26.67.
RIM is part of a cluster of mobile technology companies that have recently moved into the Triangle.
Garmin, the country's largest maker of satellite navigation devices, opened a research center in Cary last year. And Taiwanese cellphone maker HTC opened a research and development office in downtown Durham's American Tobacco Campus.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or