BlackBerry is laying off approximately 300 employees from its offices in Waterloo this week.

570 News confirmed the news through a company spokesperson this morning.

This is the statement we were provided with:

“As previously mentioned, we are in a period of transition and we must focus on enhancing our financial results to be in a better position to compete in this current mobile environment. As such, BlackBerry has implemented an ongoing workforce reduction that will impact approximately 4,500 employees globally over the next three quarters. This week’s reduction includes approximately 300 employees in Waterloo.

We recognize our local employees’ hard work on behalf of our company and the difficulty of this news. And we will do everything in our power to treat our employees with compassion, while offering support during this time of transition.”