Opera has lost 10% of staff due to the transition to WebKit

The Norwegian company Opera Software has completed the largest reduction in its 18-year history, disbanding the department of Core Technology, which has been developing the Presto browser engine, writes the Norwegian edition Digi.no. As a result, the company's staff in the IV quarter. 2012 decreased from 931 to 840 people.

Unfortunately, after the news of the transition to WebKit, many programmers voluntarily left the company in October-November. Company Director Lars Boilesen said in an interview with TNW that about half of the 90 employees who left are developers. Some of the leading programmers in the Core Technology department moved to other departments within the company, and the rest of the management helped to find a new job in the Norwegian IT sector companies, with severance pay.

The cost of restructuring only in the IV quarter. 2012 was $ 7.8 million, but the savings from the transition to WebKit repeatedly cover these costs. In general, Opera is doing very well, last year it earned 1.2 billion crowns ($ 217 million), and in 2013 it hopes to increase the staff to the previous level.
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Executive Director Lars Boylensen (pictured) in another interview Digi.no explained that after the restructuring, Opera's main priorities will be development for iOS and Android, although the company intends to continue to release browsers for all existing platforms. Moreover, Lars Boylensen announced plans to release a new browser for desktops in the second quarter of 2013. Earlier it was also reported on the project Opera Ice for tablets iOS and Android.