BlackBerry Doesn't Think it Needs Testing Staff (BBRY)

Woes seem to be continuing for Blackberry (NASDAQ: BBRY), whose shares cannot seems to escape the nine dollar level.

According to The Globe and Mail, the smartphone producer will be laying off 250 product testing staff.

Concern for layoffs was already high as the company laid off 5,000 employees at a similar time last year and struggles to keep costs low.

The announcement comes almost a month after quarter one earnings were reported for an 84 million dollar loss. The real controversy was that Blackberry did not disclose how many Z10 and Q10 phones they sold.

After hoping that their new devices would lead the company’s turnaround, this missing disclosure aided a 25 percent one-day drop. It was later announced that the company may have sold just 2.5 to 3 million units.

Related: How Low Will Apple's Cheap iPhone Go?

This may be an effective cost savings measure if the company doesn’t expect to sell many units.

Its hard to tell how effective the testers are. On one hand, they seem to be doing well because reviews for their new devices are pretty high. On the other, they sold way below expectations, meaning the testers couldn’t figure out how to make the devices more appealing.

Looking forward, BlackBerry plans to continue investing heavily in their new system through 2014 to pick up lost market share.

Shares of BlackBerry are down almost half a percent to $8.96 on this news.