If RIM (RIMM) Fails, Does Canadian Tech Fail?
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Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) reported earnings Thursday afternoon which failed to live up to its own lowered expectations, sending shares plunging under $30.
But will the exit of RIM as a major global player in the mobile and tech markets take down any chances of Canada becoming a top tech player?
Two years ago, Canada's Nortel Networks took a nose dive (and is still selling assets), leading many in the Great White North to say, "Well, at least we've still got RIM!"
But according to Canada's Globe and Daily Mail Friday morning, those positive notions are just a hair from disappearing.
RIM employs about 17,500 Canadians and is a major source of commerce and income in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario, Canada.
Globe and Daily notes: "If the RIM dream dies – or at least withers – it will be an earthquake for the little garage operations and small shops in the industrial parks around the fringes of Waterloo, and throughout the technology zone of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph."
With its earnings release, RIM reported a planned reduction in headcount, though specific numbers weren't given.
Adding to concerns, universities in Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier could also see negative implications. RIM's presence in the area supposedly draws a crowd hoping to gain quick employment post-graduation.
On the flip side, some argue RIM has less of a tech 'ecosystem' than Nortel did. Polar Mobile CEO Kunal Gupta said, "There definitely was an ecosystem of companies around Nortel. I would not say the same thing about RIM."
But will the exit of RIM as a major global player in the mobile and tech markets take down any chances of Canada becoming a top tech player?
Two years ago, Canada's Nortel Networks took a nose dive (and is still selling assets), leading many in the Great White North to say, "Well, at least we've still got RIM!"
But according to Canada's Globe and Daily Mail Friday morning, those positive notions are just a hair from disappearing.
RIM employs about 17,500 Canadians and is a major source of commerce and income in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario, Canada.
Globe and Daily notes: "If the RIM dream dies – or at least withers – it will be an earthquake for the little garage operations and small shops in the industrial parks around the fringes of Waterloo, and throughout the technology zone of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph."
With its earnings release, RIM reported a planned reduction in headcount, though specific numbers weren't given.
Adding to concerns, universities in Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier could also see negative implications. RIM's presence in the area supposedly draws a crowd hoping to gain quick employment post-graduation.
On the flip side, some argue RIM has less of a tech 'ecosystem' than Nortel did. Polar Mobile CEO Kunal Gupta said, "There definitely was an ecosystem of companies around Nortel. I would not say the same thing about RIM."
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