What you need to know
- A new report indicates that ecobee has halted development of a connected lighting line.
- Recent cuts may have also resulted in layoffs.
- Other upcoming products may still be on track for an April reveal.
The impact of the current economic downturn appears to be taking its toll on ecobee, with a new report from betakit indicating that the company stopped development of an upcoming smart lighting line. While ecobee has yet to confirm the report, an apparent internal email has surfaced which mentions an "indefinite hold":
In an email to employees on Monday, obtained by BetaKit, vice president of product Casey McKinnon noted that Ecobee's management and board of directors had made the decision to "put an indefinite hold" on its Lighting product line. "We will not be proceeding with UL (underwriter laboratories) certification, tooling, or launching a line-up of Lighting products this fall as we had originally planned," McKinnon wrote.
It is unclear whether or not the recent change in direction will affect other upcoming products. While not officially announced, several leaks over the past year have shown off a potential HomeKit camera and door/window sensor from ecobee. The report speculates that the products may still be on track for an announcement in "mid-April".
According to the report, ecobee has also laid off up to 10% of its workforce through its various locations worldwide although some of the team working on the lighting line have been moved to other projects. In addition to the layoffs, the report states that ecobee's CEO, Stuart Lombard, has taken a 30% paycut, and freezes have been implement for salary increases and expenses.
