When Hewlett-Packard announced that it was getting out of the webOS device business in August, it kept hopes alive that the webOS operating system would be sold off to another company. With a number of companies having now publicly confirmed that they are not interested, HP looks to be running out of options. UK-based The Guardian reports that the company could lay off some 500 employees and simply simply shut down the entire division. Citing “internal HP sources.” it reports that this is what the webOS team now expects. “There’s a 95% chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it’s for the best,” one webOS employee told the newspaper.
While Samsung and Sony both decided to pass on webOS, rumours suggested that both Amazon and HTC might still be interested. Have these also dropped out? Without a buyer and no hardware strategy, there would be little reason for HP to keep webOS alive.
HP yesterday announced that it would not spin off its PSG division. It also promised a decision in the “next couple of months” to what would happen to webOS.