BlackBerry memo marks the end of layoffs

Today, Reuters reported on the contents on an internal memo sent to BlackBerry employees on Aug. 1, specifying that the company is ending its three-year staff reduction process.

A BlackBerry representative declined to comment on the report when contacted by VentureBeat.

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“We have completed the restructuring notification process, and the workforce reduction that began three years ago is now behind us,” BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen wrote in the memo, according to Reuters.

Chen went on to say that BlackBerry is looking to add staff members to areas such as product development, sales, and customer service. Additionally, he specified that the company is now in a prime position to make strategic acquisitions. Chen said he for BlackBerry to remain a competitor in the mobile market.

BlackBerry had been working to trim its workforce down from more than 17,500 people in 2011 to 7,000.

BlackBerry’s latest acquisition

On July 29, BlackBerry announced the acquisition of Secusmart GmbH, a provider of high-security voice and data encryption.

“We are always improving our security solutions to keep up with the growing complexity of enterprise mobility, with devices being used for more critical tasks and to store more critical information, and security attacks becoming more sophisticated,” said Chen.

The company revealed the news at the BlackBerry Security Summit in New York City. More than 100 reporters and analysts were at the event to hear BlackBerry executives talk about security in the Digital Age.

As BlackBerry looks to beef up its mobile security measures, this may just be the first of many acquisitions for the company.

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