In an SEC filing published today, SCO revealed that CEO Darl McBride has been terminated and is no longer with the company. The decision to fire the controversial CEO is part of a restructuring plan that is based on recommendations made by the Chapter 11 trustee who was assigned to SCO by the justice department.

McBride was the architect and public face of SCO's misguided campaign against Linux. He claimed that the open source operating system infringed on SCO's copyright and included a significant quantity of code stolen from UNIX System V. On the basis of this claim, SCO threatened to sue a multitude of corporate Linux users and demanded hefty licensing fees. During the ensuing litigation fiasco, an internal SCO memo was revealed which indicated that SCO's own internal code audits of Linux found no actual evidence of infringement. The courts eventually determined that SCO never even owned the relevant UNIX copyrights in the first place.

Even after SCO's deception was exposed and the company effectively lost its case, Darl McBride continued to insist that the company has evidence of System V code in Linux. No such evidence has been presented and McBride's argument directly contradicts testimony given by other SCO executives. McBride's stubborn detachment from reality has made him a subject of ridicule in the Linux community.

The SEC filing indicates that SCO COO Jeff Hunsaker and CFO Ken Nielsen will assume the responsibility of managing SCO in collaboration with the trustee. The company does not intend to name a new CEO. Additional details of the restructuring plan are said to be forthcoming, but the company says that it has undertaken several cost-cutting measures including a "a modest reduction in SCO's workforce" and the sale of additional assets.

In a statement issued by SCO's new leadership, the company indicates that it plans to continue its litigation efforts and will move forward with the appeals process. The company also says that it plans to continue supporting its UNIX products. This potentially indicates that SCO has given up on trying to unload its UnixWare assets, a plan that has fallen through several times now as various proposed deals have evaporated.

"These actions, while difficult, are essential to SCO becoming a more agile and efficient company, not just for this year, but for years to come," said Hunsaker in a statement. "This restructuring plan reinforces SCO's ability to continue to sell and support its products while servicing the needs of our customers and partners on a worldwide basis through the stabilization of our financial situation."

SCO's numerous reorganization plans have consistently failed. It seems unlikely that the company is still capable of resurrecting itself. The courts are also growing impatient with the company's antics. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross blocked SCO's last attempted asset sale and remarked in his ruling that the company's hopes for litigation success were like a bad remix of Waiting for Godot. Now that Darl has been axed, one wonders how long the rest of the company will continue its struggle for survival.

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