Faced with strong competition from Apple and Research In Motion, as well as economic headwinds, Palm has decided to lay off some workers.
Valleywag reported that the layoffs could involve as many as 10 percent of the company's 1,050 employees. A Palm representative confirmed that layoffs were taking place but did not comment on exactly how many people were affected.
"There have been some layoffs as a result of challenges facing our company and the industry, and we're restructuring our worldwide operations to better position ourselves for profitability and long-term growth," said Lynn Fox, a Palm spokeswoman. She declined to comment on exactly where the cuts would come, but she said Palm has decided to "focus our efforts more effectively".
The layoffs will have no bearing on Palm's plans to release a new operating system next year, Fox said. Palm has been working on a Linux-based mobile operating system with which the company desperately needs to replace the aging Palm OS. The company expects to finalize that operating system this year, and release products featuring the software in the first half of next year.
It has been it doesn't appear to be making very much money on the sale of each US$99 Centro.
This article was first published as a blog on CNET News.com
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The world is different today compared to the past (compared to even just a year ago). The constant march of technology makes it possible for a smaller work force to do virtually the same job as a larger workforce. As white collar employees are handed pink slips, an employer like Palm, a bank or a brokerage may be prudent to generously retain their e-mail records. The records are a valuable asset to the employer, relating to intellectual property, project management, customer relationships and more. --Ben legal-beagle.typepad.com..." rel="nofollow">legal-beagle.typepad.com...
Posted by Benjamin Wright on Monday, November 24 2008 10:22 PM