RIM TO CUT 2000 JOBS WORLDWIDE

Research In Motion will slash about 2,000 jobs from its operations worldwide in an effort to cut costs, but the impact on employees at its Bedford office will be "relatively small," the company said Monday.

The BlackBerry maker announced the "cost optimization program" in a news release Monday, calling the layoffs a "prudent and necessary step for the long-term success of the company."

A spokesman said Monday in an email to The Chronicle Herald that "although RIM is looking to achieve efficiencies across its global operations, the impact of the workforce reduction announced today is relatively small in Halifax."

If employees at RIM’s customer support centre in Bedford had any inkling of impending job losses at their office, they were keeping mum Monday.

"Actually, I don’t know anything about it," one man said outside the Innovation Drive office.

A woman declined comment, saying, "It’s not worth the risk."

RIM said it would notify affected employees at its North American operations this week. The company, based in Waterloo, Ont., has about 19,000 employees worldwide.

Bedford councillor Tim Outhit said he isn’t privy to any of the company’s plans for layoffs in his community, but he expressed concern for the workers.

"Obviously, I’m hoping for the best for them. I like to see good-paying, knowledge economy jobs in Nova Scotia, and I was very pleased when RIM came here. They’re good-paying jobs, and we’d like to see them be here."

RIM’s arrival in Nova Scotia was announced with fanfare in November 2005. With the expected gain of hundreds of jobs in the area, the province pulled out all the stops to woo the company.

The former Office of Economic Development gave $5 million to RIM in 2005 to cover training and recruitment, and the provincial business development agency, Nova Scotia Business Inc., contributed an additional $5.3 million in payroll rebates. Under the rebate program, companies receive money each year after they meet predetermined hiring targets.

Neither RIM nor the business development agency would specify how many people the company now employs in Bedford, but Percy Paris, the minister of economic and rural development and tourism, said the number is about 540.

That is far below the estimated job growth touted in Nova Scotia Business Inc.’s 2005-06 annual report.

"The company already has more than 100 employees in place in Halifax and will continue to create one job every business day for the next five years," the report said.

Despite falling short of job estimates, the company has been a boon to the province, said Stephen Lund, the agency’s president and chief executive officer.

Name recognition alone has allowed Nova Scotia’s business jet-setters to market the province to potential clients overseas.

"This is a critical part of the IT sector," Lund said. "Having RIM has allowed us to leverage that name around the world. When we’re talking to companies in London, New York, China, it’s a great selling tool for us."

The province’s financial investment of $10.3 million has paid off, he said.

"This is a strong positive return on investment for us. If you take just the tax revenue alone that those employees would generate, it far exceeds what we paid out."

The dip in the company’s workforce comes as RIM squares off against fierce competition in the smartphone market, including Apple’s iPhone and phones with Google’s Android operating system. RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet has also received lukewarm reviews compared with Apple’s popular iPad.

Lund said RIM’s challenges are no reason to lose faith in the company.

"They’re still showing strong numbers; they’re just not meeting the numbers analysts have expected. Halifax has been a great operation. We have great confidence in the company."