Palm's software chief jumps ship

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Michael Abbott, the head of software and services at Palm, has resigned his position at the company and is set to leave officially in less than a week.

The move by Abbott was revealed in a regulatory filing from the struggling mobile manufacturer, which is believed to be in trouble after a lack of consumer interest in its latest handsets – notably the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi.

Troubling results in March – including a net loss of $22 million (£14.45 million) – raised questions around the company’s future, and last week rumours emerged that Palm was actively looking for a buyer.

Yet it seems the company has not given up the fight, with the second half of the filing revealing how it plans to tempt other senior executives to stay with “equity awards and cash bonuses,” if they hang around for two more years.

It also admitted Jeffrey P. Devine, Palm’s senior vice president of global operations, and Douglas C. Jeffries, Palm’s chief financial officer, have already received a “grant of restricted stock units pursuant to Palm’s 2009 Stock Plan and a cash bonus of $250,000.”

Abbott will leave on 23 April and no replacement has been confirmed as of yet.

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