With the future of BlackBerry up in the air, it’s no surprise that the company’s more talented employees have begun looking for a new home. And apparently, Apple is hoping that at least some of them find their new home in Cupertino.
According to a new report, the iPad-maker has begun poaching BlackBerry talent via a recruitment drive near the BlackBerry offices in Ontario. And it’s offering up both relocation and immigration assistance to hirable candidates…
Here’s the report from the Financial Post (via MacRumors):
“Just days after BlackBerry Ltd. revealed plans to lay off 40% of its global workforce amid disastrous financial results, representatives from smartphone rival Apple Inc. hosted a recruitment drive roughly 20 kilometres away from the embattled technology company’s Waterloo, Ont. home base.
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.”
According to a LinkedIn invite, obtained by the Post, most positions will be based in Cupertino, CA.. It’s unclear what the exact positions are, but the fact that Apple is offering to foot the moving bill suggests they aren’t low-level jobs.
For those unaware of the situation, BlackBerry is currently teetering on the edge of disaster. A few weeks ago it announced that it would be posting a $1 billion loss for this quarter, and would be cutting 40% of its workforce (4,500 jobs).
Right now, the company is mulling over a number of options—including a breakup auction—as it awaits for Fairfax Financial to come up with the funding for its $4.7 billion takeover bid. It has until November 4 to get the cash together.