More layoffs for Gateway

PC maker Gateway plans to announce another round of layoffs later Thursday, CNET News.com has learned.

The company is expected to detail the latest round of cuts after the financial markets close. A Gateway representative would not offer details on the cuts, saying the company needs to first communicate the news to employees. Gateway is scheduled to report financial results after market close as well.

The job cuts are the latest in a series of cutbacks at the Poway, Calif.-based PC maker, which has been struggling to restructure itself amid declining sales.

Gateway said earlier this month that it would meet its goal of profitability for the October-to-December quarter, excluding taxes and charges, but would fall considerably short of its sales goals.

The company said sales would be in the neighborhood of $1.16 billion, with unit sales dropping 15 percent from the preceding quarter, despite the fact that the fourth quarter is typically the strongest quarter in the PC industry.

Last year, the company had several rounds of layoffs, including a cut in August that trimmed Gateway's overall work force by 25 percent and saw the closure of the company's overseas operations as well as manufacturing and support facilities in the United States.

Last March, the company closed 27 Gateway Country stores, or 10 percent of the retail outlets.

Facing tough price competition from Dell Computer and others, Gateway has been trying to reposition itself as a broader supplier of technology services and to target the high end of the consumer market. Gateway has said it hopes the move will make the company smaller but more profitable.