Cyanogen seems to be going through a rough patch at the moment, as the company recently sacked about 20 percent of its global staff.
The HR cleansing came in the wake of a significant executive retreat.
It looks like most of those who got their jobs axed were working on the OS department, making Cyanogen's vision of a non-Google Android uncertain, at best.
Steve Kondik, founder and chief technology officer of Cyanogen, was in charge of the layoff process. He scheduled human resources meetings with only the soon-to-be-ex employees, who were simply notified of their termination. The rest of Cyanogen's team was asked to stay home, possibly to avoid the drama and tense atmosphere such an action usually brings.
Recent reports indicate that every Cyanogen team member that entered the company's Seattle office on Friday did so only to find out that it needs to look for a new workplace. The only exceptions were those directing the layoffs. Cyanogen's small offices in India and Lisbon were essentially shut down, as well.
As 30 of the company's 136 workforce got laid off, and most of them were on the open source code of things, it looks like the future of the Cyanogen OS is problematic. Sad but true, the company might simply pull the plug on its development.
Android Police reports that Cyanogen Inc is "pivoting" toward building out applications instead. Very little details exist at the moment, but it might be that the venture will concentrate its resources to make a profit from the Cyanogen MODs app platform.
The new focus on apps will have newly appointed COO Lior Tal at the helm. Tal is fresh with the company, as he recently arrived from Facebook only last month. His coming was a small counterpoint to the slew of higher-level executives who defected from what looks to be a sinking ship. Among them was product lead Dave Herman, a veteran with the firm, whose departure caused quite a stir at the time.
Meanwhile, Kirk McMaster, CEO at Cyanogen, is staying silent about the developments of his company. McMaster is known for his bravado and bluster, which will probably tone down a few notches.
In case you were wondering, the challenge of crafting CyanogenMod (the custom ROM that so many users commended) will be bestowed upon the developer community, as there are no longer employees at Cyanogen Inc to handle the task.
What are your feelings about the sudden shift in Cyanogen Inc's priorities? Let us know in the comments section below.
