It seems that the webOS platform is simply taking a lifetime to die off, the mobile platform just hasn’t been able to take hold in the mobile space, it couldn’t make it when Palm had it and when HP took over webOS still failed to capture the interest of the mobile space. But now it is starting to look like webOS facing a slow death.

According to the guys over at The Verge that webOS slow death has begun with news that HP has now laid off some 270 workers in their webOS division, the reason is apparently HP no longer requires many of the engineering and other related positions the division needed before.

According to the HP official statement on the matter, webOS continues the transition towards open source software and thus they do not need those webOS division workers, and as such will create a smaller and more nimble team that can deliver an open source webOS whilst sustaining HP’s long term commitment to the software.

This move in shedding webOS division employees probably doesn’t come as too big a surprise as HP moved webOS to open source and as such HP’s dedicated resources aren’t needed as much, and apparently according to the guys many of the job losses were focused on hardware related positions.

However with HP shedding webOS employees is does seem to overshadow the statements made by the company’s CEO that HP was still interested in producing webOS based hardware, especially tablets, but cutting down the workforce one would thing that is a bit less realistic now.

Perhaps it is time for webOS to finally give it up altogether and hit the garbage bin as twice now the operating system has been given a shot in the mobile space on both smartphones and tablets and basically failed both times.