Cyanogen Inc. is laying off about 20 percent of its staff. The cuts are believed to come from the branch of the company that works on its free ROM.
Cyanogen was made popular by OnePlus One which came with pre-installed CyanogenMod ROM. Cyanogen started as an alternative to Google’s stock Android. What started as a side project for a few engineers quickly became popular and those behind the project continued to support the ROM. Users can download Cyanogen ROM and flash it, just like other custom ROMs. Although made popular by OnePlus One, Cyanogen deal with OnePlus entered a rough patch when it decided to partner with Micromax. Since then, Cyanogen has not seen significant growth.
According to reports, Cyanogen Inc. is now in the midst of laying off a significant portion of its workforce. Android Police’s reliable sources claim that the employees were told in meetings they were being let go, in groups. About 30 of the 136 people Cyanogen Inc. employees have been let go.
The company plans to undergo a major shift. Some claim that this involves a pivot to apps. The systems and the QA teams in Palo Alto and Seattle have been trimmed down.
Meanwhile, Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster claims that the rumors of Cyanogen “pivot” to “apps” are false. He tweeted “Cyanogen NOT pivoting to apps. We are an OS company and our mission of creating an OPEN ANDROID stands. FALSE reporting was outstanding.” And with that, the speculations have been laid to rest. But recently, Recode has confirmed that the pivot to apps is being led by Cyanogen’s new COO Lior Tal.
https://twitter.com/cyanogenone/status/757595584228229120
We’ll keep a watch on this as the news develops.