Over the past year or so, Jolla has been checking in every now and then with news on its Jolla Tablet and more. Today the company has another update for us, but it’s not great news.
Jolla has announced that it’s latest round of financing has been delayed, and as a result, it needs to adjust its operations. Jolla has filed for a debt restructuring program and Finland and will temporarily lay off “a big part” of its employee base. These layoffs will begin in December.
Jolla co-founder Antti Saarnio says that Finland has “very good laws for corporate restructuring” that’ll give Jolla time to take care of its financial situation. Saarnio believes that that this restructuring will enable Jolla to become profitable in the future. “Sailfish OS is a very valuable asset and worth fighting for.”
Jolla says that its Sailfish OS has “reached commercial maturity” and is ready to be licensed to commercial partners. The goal is to tailor Sailfish OS to a partner’s specific needs, and Antti Saarnio says that Jolla has “several major and smaller clients” who are interested in using Sailfish OS. However, Saarnio didn’t name any of these interested parties.
Jolla began life in mid-2012 as a company of ex-Nokians that were planning to make new mobile hardware using a MeeGo-based operating system. Since then Jolla shipped a smartphone and launched a tablet on Indiegogo, but the tablet doesn’t appear to be shipping en masse quite yet. Unfortunately, it’s tough out there for any smartphone OS that isn’t Android or iOS, even for huge companies like Microsoft and BlackBerry. Jolla seems optimistic about its situation, though, saying that it has partners interested in adopting Sailfish OS and that its business will become profitable. We’ll just have to wait and see how this situation plays out.
