RIM on Monday provided details on management changes and what it calls its “cost optimization program.” In other words, it is shuffling things around to make it look like they have a handle on things. They don’t.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]One of RIM’s COOs is taking on an expanded role that is “expected to both produce greater efficiencies and help to accelerate new product introductions in the future.” When has overloading a worker ever led to greater products?
There was more executive shuffling on Monday too, but there is nothing substantive that shows Wall Street or the consumer that RIM has a plan for the future.
RIM changes are nothing more than making changes for the sake of making changes.
In addition to the executive changes, RIM also said it would layoff 2,000 workers globally. However, the biggest change that should have been made wasn’t.
RIM still has two CEOs that don’t understand the market and how to compete with Apple. The company could have saved 1,998 jobs and fired the two CEOs and been better off in the long run.
It’s not the employees that didn’t want to put a camera, MP3 player, or a touchscreen in the BlackBerry — that was the CEOs. I believe many of the employees see what’s wrong with the company, but as long as Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are running the show, RIM will continue to go down.
The changes on Monday show how desperate RIM is these days. RIM’s co-CEOs are playing three card monte with one card — everyone can see the outcome but them.