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The Irish Times reports that over 900 staff at Gateway were told on Tuesday to appoint employee representatives to consult with the company over future redundancies and restructuring in Dublin. The company told staff it was taking the action to comply with employment legislation. Under European regulations introduced this year a company must appoint employee representatives if it plans to make more than 30 staff redundant. Mike Maloney, general manager of Gateway Ireland, said there was no doubt the number of redundancies in Dublin would exceed this figure. Gateway staff who contacted The Irish Times on Tuesday said the swift action by Gateway management had raised fears that the company was planning to pull out of the Republic altogether.
All the papers report that the "Code Red" computer virus reached Switzerland early Wednesday morning infecting numerous well-known companies, a Swiss government spokesman said. Meantime the FBI said early that over one million US computer users had downloaded a protective patch to avoid attack by the bug, which was programmed to attack the Internet in North America after 8.00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (1.00 a.m. Irish time today).
The Irish Times also reports that eIsland moved to increase pressure on Eircom's workers' trust on Tuesday, claiming it could have to pay up to EUR84 million more if rival consortium Valentia matches eIsland's bid for the company. The Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT) has backed the Valentia consortium, fronted by Tony O'Reilly, while eIsland's bid is backed by the Eircom board.
The same paper also reports that Dublin wireless start-up Rococo Software has secured IEP2.5 million in first round funding from Trinity Venture Capital. The company also gained two new board members, Rory Quirke of Trinity Venture Capital, and Joe Cunningham, a senior executive with Aldiscon and Apion, who becomes a non-executive director. The company, formed in February 2000 by three former senior managers at Iona Technologies, develops wireless infrastructure software.
The same paper also reports that according to an advisory group on labour development, the Government should invest IEP130 million in information technology (IT) education in the years to 2006. Citing a likely shortage of 3,300 workers qualified to take jobs in the sector in that period, the group said the investment should be made even if an economic "glitch" led to significant job cuts in the sector.
The Irish Independent reports that Deutsche Telekom announced its third quarterly loss in a row after it was affected by costs related to mobile phone licences and a USD35 billion acquisition in the US.
The same paper also reports that Oftel has launched a review which may see it scrap price controls on the amount BT can charge domestic customers. BT currently has to keep its residential prices 4.5 percent below the retail price index, however Oftel is consulting industry and consumer groups before deciding whether to allow BT to charge what it likes for the first time since it was privatised in 1984.
The Independent also reports that Ryanair on Tuesday announced the addition of car rental company Hertz to its Web site. In an extension of an existing deal, Ryanair customers will now be able to book a Hertz car through Ryanair.com.
The Financial Times reports that Lucent Technologies moved to shore up its balance sheet on Tuesday as the telecommunications equipment group launched an offering of convertible preferred shares designed to raise USD1 billion. The offering came hours after Standard & Poor's lowered Lucent's credit ratings, and in the same week as the company is due for a crucial meeting with its banks. The shares are understood to have been priced attractively to ensure the placing is a success.
The same paper also reports that NEC, the Japanese semiconductor and computer giant, is to shed 4,000 jobs and pull out of memory chip production. The cuts, including more than 600 in the UK, come on top of more than 14,000 job losses since 1999. In February of that year, Koji Nishigaki, newly appointed president, introduced sweeping reforms including staff cuts and a division of the group into three internal companies.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Yahoo has signed a broad marketing and e-commerce agreement with Sony. Yahoo said it will help Sony of America to develop and market a co-branded Web site called "Sony on My Yahoo" for consumers interested in Sony products and services. That site will become the start page for Sony's Internet access service, Sony Style Connect, that was announced late last year. Plus, Sony's Vaio computers will be loaded with software so new purchasers can quickly register for personalized Sony and Yahoo services and content. Financial terms of the multiyear agreement weren't disclosed.
The same paper also reports that Sun Microsystems said it has undertaken a reorganization that has resulted in less than 2 percent (870) of its workers being "redeployed," which means they have been either reassigned to new jobs or put into a pool from which they will apply for new jobs at Sun. The move may result in an unspecified number of layoffs, the company said.
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