BlackBerry could lay off 40% of staff, report says

Canadian tech company BlackBerryis considering a cut of up to 40 per cent of its workforce by year end, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

"People familiar with the matter" confirmed the news that employees, in every department, could face layoffs, the report says.

ABlackBerryspokesperson refused to comment on the report, calling it "rumours and speculation."

BlackBerryhad 12,700 employees as of this March, down from 17,000 two years ago.Thesmartphonemaker has watched its market share shrink as Apple and Samsung products became popular andannounced it was seeking a buyer earlier this year.

The news comes as the company announced a new smartphone model to its lineup,the BlackBerry Z30.

"It's our biggest, largest, most advanced smartphone to date on theBlackBerry10 platform," saidVivekBhardwaj,head of software portfolios atBlackBerry.

The phone runs the latest version of the BlackBerry 10 operating system,BlackBerry 10.2, which includes many feature updates, including a larger display and the longest-running battery the company has ever offered on its phones

"Some of the latest features that come with that are features like the BlackBerryPriority Hub, so you're able to actually organize your messages now by intelligently recognizingwho the most important people are, the most important conversations," said Bhardwaj.

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Bhardwaj also highlighted changes to the BlackBerryMessenger service, allowing users to send messages to each other within the BBM network.

"With the Z30 you're actually able to retrieve BBM messages from anywhere within the phone. So you can be playing a game, you could be browsing the internet, or just looking through applications or even reading a book. So as soon as someone sends you a BBM message, it will actually appear on the top of the screen. You're able todismiss it or even read and reply right to that message within that app."

The company also announced Wednesdayit will be offering BBM to Android and Apple devices this coming weekend as a free download. It will be available on Google Play on September 21 and on Apple's App Store on September 22.

The new screen puts the Z30 at the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S4, which also features a five-inch (12.7-cm) display.

The Z30's battery, at 2880 maH, is one of the largest capacity batteries available on a smartphone. The company claims the battery can provide up to 25 hours of use.

The Z30will be available in stores in the U.K. and the Middle East starting next week. A Canadian release date is expected to be announced in the next coming weeks.

Analyst:New phone won't save company

Jefferiesmanaging directorPeter Misek saidthe Z30will likely do little to turn around the company's fortunes.

"It's an attempt by them to stabilize their business in their core marketswhere they're verystrong, places like Malaysia," he said.

"In the United States and the rest of the developed world, this is probably going to have little to no impact."

Misek saidthe timing of the phone's entry to the market is in line with expectations, but other aspects of the Z30's launch concern him.

"It's interesting and worrying to note that they're not launching thisin the United States,or having an event in the United States," he said.

"They're really focusing on where they think they still have strength."