Finnish mobile company Jolla says it is adjusting its operations and will temporarily lay off what it describes as “a big part” of its personnel from next month. The business, formed four years ago, developed the Sailfish mobile operating system and two associated products: the Jolla smartphone (launched in 2013) and the Jolla Tablet (launched last year).
Antti Saarnio, Chairman and co-founder of Jolla, said “Typically for start-ups Jolla has gone through several death valleys along its four year journey. We’ve fought them through and now we are facing again a great challenge. Our operating system Sailfish OS is in great shape currently and it is commercially ready. Unfortunately the development until this point has required quite a lot of time and money. To get out of this death valley we need to move from a development phase into a growth phase. At the same time we need to adapt our cost levels to the new situation. One of the main actions is to tailor the operating system to fit the needs of different clients. We have several major and smaller potential clients who are interested in using Sailfish OS in their projects.”
“In Finland we have very good laws for corporate restructuring. These enable the continuation of businesses through debt restructuring, which gives a company more time to take care of its financial liabilities. I believe that through this program Jolla can turn its business to be profitable in the future. Sailfish OS is a very valuable asset and worth fighting for.”