N.S. gives BlackBerry $10M over 5 years to keep jobs

The Nova Scotia government is giving tech giant BlackBerry $10 million over five years to help the company keep at least 400 jobs in the province.

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter said in return, BlackBerry has committed to spend $4 million a year on a facility that would purchase new equipment and conduct research and development.

Last summer, the company laid off about 95 people from its Halifax-area operations following its announcement that it would be reducing its global workforce by 5,000.

A BlackBerry spokesperson said while the company policy is not to disclose exactly how many employees work at a specific location, it will confirm more than 400 people work in Bedford.

It must maintain at least 400 employees to qualify for a $2 million  per year incentive from the province.

A company official said the government approached BlackBerry asking what it could do to help it stay in Nova Scotia after the last round of layoffs.

The funding comes two days after the launch of the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone in Canada.