Google's Eyes in Your Inbox

Sun also said today that its executive vice president of software, 38-year-old Jonathan Schwartz, has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.

Gateway's Attempt To Stay Afloat

First came news this week that personal computer maker Gateway was moving its headquarters from a San Diego suburb to Orange County, Calif. Now consumers will lose the chance to go check out Gateway PCs first hand. The company announced late yesterday that it is closing all 188 of its retail stores by next week and will instead sell Gateway computers online and through retailers. Some 2,500 workers will get pink slips due to the change "When its retail stores close, Gateway will have just 4,000 workers. At its peak four years ago, it employed more than 20,000," The San Diego Union-Tribune said.
• The San Diego Union-Tribune: Gateway Retail Outlets And 2,500 Jobs To Go

And put this away in the not-so-great planning file. Spokesman Brad Williams told The Washington Post "the company had just finished a $35 million upgrade of the stores to showcase their growing lines of electronics, such as digital cameras and plasma televisions."
• The Washington Post: Gateway To Shutter Stores On April 9, Cut 2,500 Jobs

A Gateway employee told The Los Angeles Times that "the stores were part of what made Gateway special, a great differentiator and a brilliant idea. But they were no longer right for the times, and that's a bitter pill to swallow."
• The Los Angeles Times: Gateway To Close All Retail Locations (Registration required)

Outsourcing's Latest Sign-Ons

Add America Online to the list of companies using tech workers in India to help run its operations. The company has set up shop in Bangalore, India. "AOL began recruiting engineers in India last December in hopes of building an overseas presence where skilled, technical labor is cheaper than in the United States. AOL has already hired 12 engineers and will grow the office to about 50 over the next several months, a company spokesman said," CNET's News.com reported.
• CNET's News.com: AOL Begins Hiring In Bangalore

The Associated Press said AOL, a unit of Time Warner, has advertised other positions in newspapers in India. "The Internet company, which lost two million dial-up subscribers in the last few years, laid off 450 software developers in California in December and closed two offices in the state. Now AOL is advertising in Indian newspapers, seeking software developers with varying experience profiles."
• The Associated Press via The New York Daily News: AOL Outsourcing In India

Meanwhile, Siemens is cutting 2,500 jobs in Germany as it looks to save costs by moving some work overseas. "Siemens, the largest engineering company in Germany, said Thursday that moving production to countries with lower wages would affect 5,000 domestic jobs as competition from Asia mounts and domestic labor costs hamper investment. The company, based in Munich, will cut 2,500 German jobs, and another 2,500 people in the country may have to switch jobs or locations, said Eberhard Posner, a spokesman, in a telephone interview," Bloomberg reported.
• Bloomberg via The International Herald Tribune: Siemens Plans To Cut 2,500 Jobs In Germany

Talk Outsourcing Today

Outsourcing and its impact on the IT sector will be the topic-du-jour when I host a Live Online discussion at 11 a.m. ET today with Ron Hira, chair of the career and workforce policy committee for tech trade group IEEE-USA. Questions can be submitted in advance or during the chat.

A Fishy Tale

Nemo would be happy with this: California lawmakers are considering overthrowing a ban to keep bioengineered fish out of home aquariums. "California regulators voted Thursday to reconsider the nation's only ban on biotech household pets after one commissioner said he was lobbied by his wife, a household aquarium owner who wants to buy the outlawed fluorescent fish. Fish and Game commissioners voted in December to prohibit sales or ownership of the trademarked GloFish. They refused to exempt the fish from a ban on genetically altered species intended to protect wild fish like endangered salmon from contamination or competition," The Associated Press reported.
• The Associated Press via The San Jose Mercury News: California Reconsiders Nation's Only Biotech Pet Ban

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