Gateway layoffs hit call center

Gateway laid off 43 part-time employees this week in its Kansas City, Mo., technical support call center, part of a broader cost-cutting effort at the company. "We notified 43 consumer desktop tech support (employees)...we would not be needing their services any more," company spokesman Bob Sherbin said. "There was not enough demand to require their services."

The workload carried by the employees, who each worked less than 20 hours per week, will be taken up by Gateway's remaining tech support staff, located in various U.S. locations. Gateway, which has been working to reduce costs in a bid to return to profitability, has now eliminated a little more than 1900 employees and closed 80 of its retail stores since the beginning of the year.