USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
Of of the primary Intel developers charged with maintaining the USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers has moved on from his position at Intel, which does not bode well for Linux, as this is not the first Linux developer to leave the company.
Intel has faced dramatic staff reductions. Back in July, the company cut 15% of its staff, which was (according to EO Lip-Bu Tan) done to help Intel's profitability. Intel has already lost developers in graphics and networking.
This is coming on the heels of enhanced support for USB4 having been added to kernel 6.15. For those in the data sector, the loss of yet another Linux developer at Intel could have a devastating effect, as USB4 and Thunderbolt make working with high-speed peripherals much easier in Linux.
The saving grace here could be increased involvement from third-party vendors and enterprise companies that depend on continued (and robust) Linux development. In the meantime, those developers who are still employed by Intel might have to pick up the slack until the Linux kernel development community can act.
Fortunately, the Linux development community is accustomed to such issues and will most likely weather this storm. On top of that, most enterprise companies fully understand how important Linux development is to the success of their organization. Because of that, it would behoove those companies that benefit from Linux to step in and offer the kernel development community a helping hand.
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