Blackberry To Cut 4,500 Jobs Globally

Blackberry has announced plans to cut 4,500 jobs in an attempt to staunch huge losses - That figure comes to about 40 percent of its worldwide workforce.

The smartphone maker said it anticipated a loss of as much as $995m when it reports its second-quarter earnings next week.

Shares in the firm closed down 17 percent after briefly being halted following the announcement.

In August, the Canadian company said it was evaluating a possible sale.

In a statement on Friday, Blackberry's chief executive Thorstein Heins said: "We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability."

"Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user."

The company said the losses were primarily attributable to disappointing sales of its new Z10 model smartphone.

Released in January to much fanfare after many delays, the phone has failed to enthuse consumers.