Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories?
No, thank you Accept
X
WWDC: Everything We ExpectRemote Working in ParadiseBest Mineral SunscreensBest Solar CompaniesCNET CouponsMeal Subscription vs. TakeoutBest Satellite Internet ProvidersCurrent Mortgage Rates

SCO lays off 190 workers with Caldera deal

Santa Cruz Operation will lay off 190 people and take a $5 million to $6 million charge this quarter as part of its sale of Unix operating system software and services to Caldera Systems.

stephenshankland.jpg
stephenshankland.jpg
Stephen Shankland principal writer
Stephen Shankland has been a reporter at CNET since 1998 and writes about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science Credentials
  • I've been covering the technology industry for 24 years and was a science writer for five years before that. I've got deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and other dee
See full bio
Stephen Shankland
2 min read

Gartner analyst George Weiss says Caldera's plan to purchase the server and services units of SCO puts a new spin on the evolution of Linux.

see commentary

Santa Cruz Operation will lay off 190 people and take a $5 million to $6 million charge this quarter as part of its sale of Unix operating system software and services to Linux company Caldera Systems.

The layoffs, 19 percent of the company's work force, will occur in the parts of the business being transferred to Caldera, SCO said.

"This reduction will lower expenses to better reflect SCO's recent performance in our server software and professional services divisions," SCO chief executive Doug Michels said in a statement. "We have worked closely with Caldera to ensure that these actions produce staffing results consistent with its future, post-acquisition business model."

Caldera acquired SCO's Unix products in August. SCO is renaming itself Tarantella, the name of its software that lets companies run programs on a server so that a multitude of stripped-down "thin client" computers can tap into it over the Web.

No layoffs will occur in the Tarantella business, SCO said.

The charge will be recorded in the current quarter, which ends Sept. 30.

The acquisition gives Caldera Unix software as well as Linux software. The company intends to make the software run similarly, so that higher-level programs can run on either Caldera's Linux or UnixWare without having to be modified.

The strategy will mean Caldera can serve customers who need an operating system that works on heavy-duty multiprocessor servers, where Unix has been for years and where Linux is just getting a start. Some analysts are skeptical about whether Caldera will be able to digest the SCO employees and businesses, however.