Research in Motion, the BlackBerry maker based in Waterloo, Ontario, is cutting 2,000 jobs this year to reduce costs.

This latest job cut is the largest in Canadian technology history, and one of the factors cited for the cuts is the increasingly stiff competition in the smartphone and tablet market where consumers gravitate towards Apple and Android products.

The company has 19,000 employees across the board with most located in south-western Ontario. The North American employees will begin to receive notices this week, while those in other countries will get their notices later.

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet was released in the first quarter of this year and has received lukewarm reviews compared to the Apple iPad.