Mac users turned their attention to long time Mac app developer Ambrosia Software Wednesday night when the company's coders posted messages on Twitter saying they lost their jobs and that the business was shutting down. Despite what the word is on Twitter, however, company president Andrew Welch says that's not what's really happening.
Ambrosia Software: Not dead yet
The Mac Observer asked Mr. Welch what was going on and he said, "People were indeed laid off, however, the company is not folding." He added that Ambrosia is still selling and supporting its products.
Word that at least some of the staff had been laid off and that the company was closing surfaced last night when now former coders Jon Gary, Jeremy Knope, and Rudy Richter all tweeted that they were out of a job. Mr. Richter made it clear at least he was under the impression Ambrosia was closing its doors with a follow up tweet that said in part, "Employer closed up shop today. Upside is jobs are plentiful."
Ambrosia Software is well known for its popular Snapz Pro X, WireTap Studio, and iToner applications, and games such as Deimos Rising and EV Nova from the popular Escape Velocity series.
Mr. Welch didn't say if Ambrosia is scaling back on its app lineup, but his confirmation that the company isn't shutting down is good news for the people that rely on its products. Snapz Pro X and WireTap Studio, for example, are critical tools for many writers, bloggers, and podcasters, and losing those would mean some serious redesigning of workflows.
Layoffs are never fun both for employers and the people that suddenly find themselves out of a job, and no doubt Wednesday was a bad day all around at Ambrosia. Hopefully the company can move forward and the developers that are now out of work will find new jobs soon.