Although many companies are laying off their employees, RIM is still going strong and hiring all the right talent. RIM is still looking to fill hundreds of positions.

The BlackBerry maker said it plans to make about 600 new hires in order to support its growing portfolio of BlackBerry products. The company is looking to bolster its 12,000-member-strong workforce with new engineers, salespeople, and software developers, executives said.

“We’ve built this business on some really spectacular talent and some great chemistry,” co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We’re not about to let that down.”

Many of these hires will come from the competition, serving to both boost RIM’s human capital, as well as take talent away from rivals.

RIM has been able to avoid the downturn so far, and it posted a strong fourth quarter thanks to handsets like the BlackBerry Storm. Smartphone sales are expected to defy the sluggishness in the overall mobile market, and RIM said its push architecture will be a key differentiator from its rivals.

Similar Posts:

• Jim Balsillie Confirms Storm 2 To Reuters
• Send your friends PTT messages with new TELUS web app
• Research in Motion makes Top 5 Hot Canadian Companies
• What do you want to know from RIM’s official BlackBerry blog?
• BlackBerry App World Coming April 1st?