We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Digging around the CrackBerry Forums today, one thread I spotted that was getting some serious traffic was the news from CBC that three more senior executives would be exiting BlackBerry. Taking a look through the list of those departing, one has already apparently been gone for over a month now and can be found working at Amazon yet, the information is just now coming about. The other two, consisting of Doug Kozak, vice-president, corporate information technology operations and Graeme Whittington, vice-president, service operations come shortly after BlackBerry announced recent layoffs.
BlackBerry grew up quickly. You promote internally and when you start implementing accountabilities, you realize that some people are not right for the job.
In the broad scope of it all, the information really isn't all that interesting. We knew more people would be exiting the company and more layoffs were bound to happen. Even the confirmation CBC obtained from BlackBerry's Rebecca Freiburger, confirms it's an ongoing process - "We are in the second phase of our transformation plan where we will be assessing our organization — from top to bottom — to ensure we have the right people in the right roles with the right skill sets to drive new opportunities in mobile computing."
BlackBerry is in a long term plan for FUTURE growth. There's no opportunity for a VP to move up quickly now. The hammer has come down, and execs have to EARN their bonuses.
The interesting aspect to all this is the varied responses from folks in the CrackBerry Forums, for which there has been many. Some people see it as 'trimming the fat' while other folks see it as a terrible sign of the company going further down the drain. Now, I'm no stock analyst, nor do I own any stock in BlackBerry but I did manage to learn one thing over the years and that's that BlackBerry was a significantly large company and there was plenty of extra baggage, especially now that BlackBerry 10 has arrived and folks from the old architecture are no longer needed.
Either they are seeing a sinking ship and jumping off or they were part of bbry's problems.
Still though, many see it as terrible times ahead and that's understandable. Low stock, many layoffs and a not so great quarter. Are those who don't see it as negative though looking through rose-colored glasses? Maybe some. But what if it's all for the betterment of the company and the people exiting weren't really needed any more? Maybe they just wanted to move on. For example, Doug Kozak was at BlackBerry for 13 years and prior to that at Bell for 18. No doubt he's done well for himself. Maybe it was just time to kick it on a beach somewhere with some mojitos.
Join the Community Discussion
What do you all think? Are people looking through rose-colored glasses? Is it all part of a bigger plan? Let us know in the CrackBerry Forums and in the comments below.
Discuss more in the CrackBerry Forums
Read more
How Go Talk intends to be the BlackBerry of mobile carriers
Identity theft often goes through an unexpected route: conning the carrier. Go Talk Wireless wants to stamp out SIM swap fraud at the source.
Could AphyOS be the BlackBerry 10 successor we’ve been waiting for?
I met with representatives of Apostrophy at CES and received a first look at AphyOS — a new privacy-focused, subscription-based mobile OS that is expected launch later this year.
The Apple Watch Ultra is perfect for more than just fitness buffs
The Apple Watch Ultra is positioned as a smartwatch in a class of its own among Apple's smartwatch lineup, and it's in a class of its own amongst all smartwatches. Here's why we love it!
CrackBerry website migration happening this Saturday - DONE
Today is 2/22/22, which has put the number TWO in my head and made me realize it has been a minute or two since I've updated everyone on CrackBerry 2.0 relaunch progress. To fix that, here's an update starting with two exciting things happening this Saturday: 1. CrackBerry Turns 15! February 26, 2022 marks 15 years since CrackBerry.com officially launched. Seriously, where does the...