14 DAY TRIAL // We would have liked it if we did not have a motive to write about any more layoffs, but we don't always get what we want.
We have learned that HP has laid off a large part of its remaining webOS staff, as part of its effort to open source the operating system.
In other words, this measure had been part of the company's plans for quite a while.
Of course, this doesn't take away from the gloom of the situation, and neither does it paint the future of this ill-fated OS in brighter colors.
For those who want the numbers, HP's webOS group has lost 275 of its 500 members.
“As webOS continues the transition from making mobile devices to open source software, it no longer needs many of the engineering and other related positions that it required before,” the company reportedly stated.
“This creates a smaller and more nimble team that is well-equipped to deliver an open source webOS and sustain HP’s commitment to the software over the long term. HP is working to redeploy employees affected by these changes to other roles at the company.”
Unfortunately, even with the attempts to move workers to other departments, most of them will still end up left to their own devices.
Nevertheless, the number of pink slips is still quite a bit smaller than the one IBM sent out over the past week.
Where HP discharged just 275 people, IBM laid off over 1,000 and plans to go ahead with more in the near future.
In case anyone is wondering where this leaves HP's tablet plans, the company means to continue moving forward and be active in this segment. In fact, not only is it going to make media tablets like everyone else, but it also has special designs for the enterprise market, where it will concentrate on security.