BlackBerry set to lose two more executives as leadership cull continues

A source close to the beleaguered BlackBerry has told The Wall Street Journal that two senior staff members will soon be leaving the smartphone manufacturer. Chris Wormald, head of BlackBerry’s mergers and acquisitions, will reportedly be leaving by the end of December, while Rick Costanzo, executive vice president of global sales, will be out early next year.

The news comes less than a month after three other executives were ousted from the company. BlackBerry was on the verge of breaking up in October after a buyout was mooted. To save the ailing corporation, new CEO John Chen — appointed to the position after Thorsten Heins quit the company in November — has adopted aggressive reconstruction policies. Chen reportedly told employees “things are going to get worse before they get better,” at a town-hall meeting shortly after his appointment, also threatening that not all attendees would be there to see the company right itself. Chen will deliver BlackBerry’s third quarter earnings later this week, at which point the world will see whether his yearly salary of up to $3 million has spurred him to turn around the company’s spiraling fortunes.