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In the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre on Sept. 26, located in Cambridge, Ont. on the outskirts of the Kitchener-Waterloo region where BlackBerry was born, the iPhone maker invited local talent with the aim of luring them to their Silicon Valley operations.

“Most positions will be based in Cupertino, CA.,” according to a LinkedIn invite sent to certain BlackBerry employees and obtained by the Financial Post. “Relocation and immigration assistance will be provided for candidates that are hired, as needed.”

Six days earlier, BlackBerry had shown it was teetering on the edge of disaster. On Sept. 20, the smartphone maker said it expected to post a nearly US$1-billion loss and would cut 4,500 jobs from their ranks worldwide (in addition to ongoing layoff rounds that had already been underway).

Apple wasn’t the only one positioning themselves to pick up the pieces. Two days later, on Sept. 28 and 29, Intel Corporation held an “information session” at the Holiday Inn Kitchener-Waterloo Hotel & Conference Centre in Kitchener, Ont., as part of their search for engineers to join its Mobile and Communications Group, according to an email invite also received by BlackBerry employees.

“We would like to invite you to ‘look inside’ Intel and meet some of our amazing employees and potentially interview for an opportunity to join our team,” it read.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment on the recruitment drive. But an Intel spokesperson said: “We hold recruiting sessions around the world and are always looking for good people. Based in the technology triangle, this recruitment session was designed to engage with engineers.”