Media outlets from all around the Interwebs are claiming that BlackBerry’s manufacturing partner Jabil Circuit will pretty dump its business with the Canadian company. And that’s not exactly right.
What Jabil Circuit is saying is that it sees BlackBerry’s trouble and has to start preparing for any changes within BlackBerry.
During a call with analysts, Jabil’s CEO said that his company is faced “with a strong possibility of disengaging with BlackBerry.” He went on to add: “Our team has worked diligently over the past few days to comprehend the recently announced changes. … We’re in discussions right now on how we’re going to wind down the relationship.”
That’s so much different than “bailing on BlackBerry” as some media is reporting.
The fact is that BlackBerry is having hard time convincing enough users to buy their gear instead of those made by other vendors, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stop making devices. BlackBerry could ask for reduction in number of produced units, and that’s the legitimate concern for Jabil Circuit.
BlackBerry is Jabil’s second-largest customer after Apple, making up 12% of its business. In comparison, Apple comprises 19%.
[Via: AllThingsD]