Blackberry is to cut 4500 jobs - 40% of its worldwide workforce.
The company also announced on Friday it anticipated a loss of as much as $US995 million when it reports second-quarter earnings next week.
The BBC reports shares plummeted 20% after briefly being halted following the announcement.
In August, Blackberry said it was evaluating a possible sale of the company.
Blackberry had pinned hopes on the launch of the Blackberry 10 earlier this year but sales have been weak.
