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"exec" writes:

Ars Technica reports that Cyanogen Inc. reportedly fires OS development arm, switches to apps:

Cyanogen Inc. seems to be in trouble. A report from Android Police cites "several sources" that say the three-year-old Android software house will be laying off 20 percent of its workforce. One source said the company would "pivot" to "apps" and away from OS development.

"Cyanogen" branding can be confusing, so here's a quick glossary before we get started:

• Cyanogen—A person. Steve Kondik. The guy that originally started CyanogenMod.
• CyanogenMod—A free, open source, OS heavily based on Android and compatible with hundreds of devices. Anyone can download and flash the OS to a compatible device.
• Cyanogen OS—A for-profit OS that OEMs can purchase and ship on devices. It's the CyanogenMod codebase with some proprietary features on top and update support from Cyanogen Inc.
• Cyanogen Inc.—A for-profit company that aims to sell Cyanogen OS to OEMs. Formed with key members from the open-source project.
• Cyanogen Mods—Cyanogen Inc.'s proprietary app platform for Cyanogen OS.

The Android Police report says "roughly 30 out of the 136 people Cyanogen Inc. employs" are being cut, and that the layoffs "most heavily impact the open source arm" of the company.  Android Police goes on to say that CyanogenMod development by Cyanogen Inc "may be eliminated entirely." The community could continue to develop CyanogenMod, but it seems many of the core CyanogenMod developers at the company will no longer be paid to work on CyanogenMod.

The story reports that, after a long executive retreat for Cyanogen Inc.'s company leaders, layoffs were conducted without advance notice.Imagine coming in to work to discover that a generic human resources meeting had been added to your schedule the night before — and in the meeting find out your were being laid off.

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

1. "Cyanogen Inc. reportedly fires OS development arm, switches to apps" - http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/07/report-cyanogen-inc-to-layoff-20-of-workers-may-pivot-to-app-development/
2. "Android Police" - http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/07/22/sources-cyanogen-inc-is-undergoing-major-layoffs-may-pivot-to-apps/
3. "three-year-old" - http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/09/cyanogenmod-goes-pro-with-cyanogen-inc-and-7-million-in-funding/
4. "Anyone can download" - http://www.cyanogenmod.org/
5. "proprietary app platform" - http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/02/cyanogen-launches-the-mod-platform-with-lots-of-microsoft-integration/
6. "Original Submission" - https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=14919

printed from SoylentNews, Cyanogen Inc. Lays Off OS Development Team on 2025-12-12 13:18:11