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WATERLOO, Ont. — BlackBerry Ltd. is selling its research and development department in Germany to Volkswagen Infotainment, a subsidiary of the automaker that makes interactive technology built into vehicle dashboards.

The deal will shift about 200 BlackBerry employees in Bochum, Germany, to Volkswagen.

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The move comes as the Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone maker pushes ahead with a plan to become profitable by its 2016 financial year.

Volkswagen will assume BlackBerry’s leases for offices at the Bochum University Center and the Design Support Lab.

Research and development centres are typically shrouded in secrecy for competitive reasons, and BlackBerry declined to outline what products it fostered there.

In a statement, BlackBerry said the Bochum centre oversaw hardware, software and mechanical development, as well as certain testing, certification and quality management responsibilities.