In the evening on June 21st, Beijing time, according to a report released by the Waterloo Region Record of Canada on Tuesday, BlackBerry maker RIM has begun issuing layoff notices. RIM said on Friday that the company will lay off workers, but did not disclose the number of layoffs.

A RIM spokesperson has not commented on the news. The release of the "Waterloo Area Record" covers precisely the city of Ontario where RIM's headquarters is located. The report also did not give the number of layoffs mentioned in the layoff notice. RIM currently employs approximately 175,000 people worldwide, including 9,000 employees in the Waterloo area.

After releasing a disappointing quarterly earnings report last Friday and lowering its full-year earnings forecast, RIM's share price has fallen by about 27%. In the process of catching up with Apple and other companies in the smartphone and tablet market, RIM made a series of wrong decisions. The cumulative decline in RIM's share price during the year has exceeded 50%.