OSDL Restructures at The Expense of Employees

The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), an organization that has proclaimed itself the center of gravity for Linux, is laying off employees, losing its CEO Stuart Cohen and re-aligning its resources.

OSDL CEO Stuart Cohen is leaving the OSDL to pursue other open source software opportunities and will be replaced by CFO Mike Temple.

"OSDL has made some difficult decisions to align its resources to address specific projects and programs that focus on the things that create the greatest value for its members," said Temple in a e-mailed statement to

The OSDL currently has some 70 members that pay as much as $1 million dollars a year in membership fees. It is also the employer of Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux. According to an OSDL FAQ, the OSDL currently employs 19 people in the U.S. and Asia. A total of nine employees are being laid off.

According to the OSDL, since Linux has now become more mainstream, the OSDL's original mission of Linux adoption acceleration needs to change. The group will now have fewer projects than before, with some ceasing altogether and some being transferred to OSDL members.

The OSDL also expects to be outsourcing project work as well as IT and infrastructure functions.

The OSDL will now shift its efforts more toward being a catalyst on certain efforts, including the OSDL-sponsored Portland Project, which aims to provide better interoperability between the GNOME and KDE Linux desktops.

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