HP has laid off more than 270 workers from its webOS division following its decision to open-source the operating system in December last year.
HP today confirmed to tech blog The Verge that just under 300 staffers would be let go from the software division as it “no longer needs many of the engineering and other related positions that it required before".
“This creates a smaller and more nimble team that is well-equipped to deliver an open source webOS and sustain HP’s commitment to the software over the long term,” HP said in a statement.
The PC maker said it would work to redeploy affected workers to other areas of the company.
An Australian HP spokesperson said the job cuts would not affect any local HP staff.
The announcement follows an initial round of staff cuts in September last year, when HP axed up to 525 jobs from the webOS division as part of an internal PSG transition which saw the webOS hardware and software teams separated.
The future of the operating system was cut short in August last year when HP stopped production of its TouchPad tablet after it failed to meet "financial targets and internal milestones".
The full open-source version of webOS is slated for release in September this year.
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