Evernote cuts 47 employees and shuts down 3 offices

Url changed from http://www.businessinsider.com/evernote-layoffs-2015-9, which points to this.

I think why news of layoffs is so disconcerting is that it can be really, really hard to differentiate between what's fat and what's muscle in the business. A lot of "cost centers" like development end up meaning a lot to brand perceptions, which isn't valued correctly in the traditional P&L hierarchy and can have a significant time lag.

You know what _really_ sucks about this? They're closing off the API & got rid of their evangelists.

> Evernote’s strength is in its core: notes, sync, and search. That’s where we’re going to focus.

Well, like many others, I've been wishing Evernote would drop all the auxiliary stuff and focus on their core product. Hopefully that's exactly what will now happen. Evernote has become an absolutely critical part of my life. Even though I use it for business (along with everything else) though, I have no use for the majority of the new features they've added over the past few years. Of course, not every feature will be useful to everyone, and just because I don't use something doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. However, when you see significant bugs languish for years while niche features get priority, it suggests a problem. I really hope this signifies a change in direction (as opposed to a milestone in the current, downward, one).

I know that it is the common vernacular, but you didn't let them go, you fired them. Surely they would prefer to not go and continue to pay their mortgage.

I'm sure it wasn't easy to fire them, but don't try and make the situation rosey. The folks who decided on the direction of the company decided wrong and now they have to fire the people who executed those decision.

Edit: Would you all prefer the word "Terminated"?