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 how many local jobs will be affected in the cuts. 

A little late to the navigation app party, Garmin announced its entry into the iPhone arena.

There were only about 40 jobs available, but that didn't prevent hundreds of hopefuls from showing up at a job fair in Durham this afternoon.

The fair, for GPS maker Garmin, drew refugees from many of the area's tech companies that have been recently laying off workers. Garmin is among the few companies hiring, in this case for a new Research Triangle Park facility in the Triangle.

At the Hilton Raleigh-Durham, the line of job seekers in dark business suits stretched the entire length of the hotel lobby.

Lisa Dempson of Durham stood in the line and waited. She was laid off a year ago from IBM and has not found work since.

"A lot of companies have job fairs but they're not really hiring," she said. "At least this time you know they are."

Still, with hundreds of resumes flooding in and the job fair continuing until 8 o'clock tonight, applicants also said they know their chances are slim.

"I knew it was going to be big today," said Rick Bartz of Cary, who works for Sony Ericsson for now but knows he will be out of a job when the RTP facility closes later this year. "Still, it's surprising how many people are out. My main goal today was to get my foot in the door." 

Garmin officials on site refused comment but told people waiting in line that a management team has been selected for the new office, and that the company hopes to be up and running by the end of February or early March.

Garmin has found the Triangle.

The country's largest maker of satellite navigation devices announced plans to open a research center in this region. Garmin initially expects to hire up to 40 engineers, software programmers and other employees.

The Olathe, Kan.-based company is facing increasing competition from cell phones and other devices with mapping capabilities, and is adding talent to develop the next generation gadgets.

This region is rich with technology workers, including hundreds laid off by companies such as cell phone maker Sony Ericsson. Research in Motion, the Canadian maker of BlackBerry devices, recently confirmed it plans to open offices in the Triangle.