HP to lay off as many as 525 at webOS GBU

[j_col]

As a Touchpad and Pre3 user, I can honestly say that these guys done a great job in delivering these devices (I love them both, yes I am a long-suffering webOS fanboy), and this is a terrible reward for all of their hard work. Wish them all well in their post-HP lives.

[SkyMarshal]

"and this is a terrible reward for all of their hard work."

Don't cry for them too hard, Argentina. I know one of them, they have a severence coming which I believe was part of the deal when HP bought them - cancel Palm/WebOS, lay us off, and we get paid. It'll buy a lot of them time to think about what's next and hopefully start some cool new startups that inherit what they've learned and done over the years.

[hvs]

Unfortunately, "hard work" is not something that inherently deserves a reward (or is it its own reward?) in the business world. You can work really hard on the wrong thing. I hope the developers were compensated well for putting out a good product, but I wouldn't associate their getting laid off with how hard they worked, but that the company miscalculated.

[RexRollman]

I can really feel for the fans of webOS. I was a user and big fan of BeOS when it was dying and it totally sucked.

[cpeterso]

And then Palm acquired BeOS IP in 2001 for $11 million.

[m_st]

webOS software devs are still there. https://twitter.com/#!/SirKneeland/status/115994758777815041

[veemjeem]

Yes, but for how long? If I was there and saw one side of the team cut, I'd start polishing my CV. Maybe HP moves the software people around so that they never get "cut", but honestly I don't think there's much hope for anyone still working on that platform.

HP's stock is at its lowest point in the last 5 years. I'm not sure if it can afford to keep those Palm people around.

[jbhelms]

I am a contractor at HP in Roseville. While we are not associated with the WebOS team, there have been talks here about layoffs. I work on the HP Networking/Procurve team. We have been told that our team is being integrated with HPIT, but the problem with that is the HPIT team is on the east coast, so that means the chances of even the employees keeping their jobs is slim. All of us contractors have been warned that our contract will most likely end at the end of October. While I don't know for sure, I would guess that the WebOS team will be folded into some other HPIT team if they are willing to relocate.

[dpio]

Isn't that like half of Palm? This sucks. The Apothekerlypse continues.

[franze]

must be true, their stock is rising http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:HPQ

[rbanffy]

Look at HPQ two years from now, when it has no product to sell.

I don't buy their software strategy. Neither does the market.

http://www.google.com//finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1...

See when Dell and HP start to diverge? Guess what happened on August 18th.

[knotty66]

What do /did these 525 people do exactly, if they weren't developers or developer relations? Middle managers?

[Xuzz]

Hardware.

[albb0920]

Buy and destroy, just like yahoo.