VMware Fusion, Workstation team culled in company restructure

(credit: Ferran Rodenas)

Members of VMware's "Hosted UI" team-the developers responsible for the virtualization company's Workstation and Fusion desktop products-were apparently laid off on Monday as part of a restructuring of the company that was announced yesterday. The developers were just a part of a larger layoff as the company moved to cut costs and brought aboard a new chief financial officer.

"VMware" announced a restructuring and realignment of approximately 800 roles," a company spokesperson said in a press release Monday, "and plans to take a GAAP charge estimated to be between $55 million and $65 million related to this action over the course of the first half of 2016. The company plans to reinvest the associated savings in field, technical and support resources associated with growth products."

In a blog post, Christian Hammond, a former member of the Hosted UI team, reported the layoff, along with concerns about the future of the "award winning and profitable" desktop virtualization products. "VMware lost a lot of amazing people, and will be feeling that for some time to come, once they realize what they've done," Hammond wrote. "It's a shame. As for our team, well, I think everyone will do just fine. Some of the best companies in the Silicon Valley are full of ex-VMware members, many former Hosted UI, who would probably welcome the chance to work with their teammates again."

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