Bloomberg:

Ford Motor Co. is deploying iPhones for corporate use to employees worldwide, scoring a win for Apple Inc. as it seeks to lure more corporate customers.

The second largest U.S. automaker will replace BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY)’s smartphones with iPhones for about 3,300 workers by the end of this year, Sara Tatchio, a Ford spokeswoman, said yesterday in an interview. About 6,000 more employees will receive iPhones over the next two years, replacing flip phones, she said.

Huge blow to BlackBerry:

The switch to iPhones by Ford, which has about 181,000 employees worldwide, is a blow to BlackBerry and Chief Executive Officer John Chen, who has sought to turn around the company by prioritizing software-based services for corporations as its smartphone sales slump.

“While we can’t comment on this customer, we understand that there is diversity and choice in the market,” Adam Emery, a BlackBerry spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement. “Enterprises should think twice about relying on any solution built on the foundation of a consumer technology that lacks the proven security benefits that BlackBerry has always delivered.”