IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 13 July
13-07-2007
by Deirdre McArdle
Eircom and unions to meet at LRC | Moto's Zander under pressure from shareholders to resign
The Irish Times reports that Dell's Irish staff will escape the worst of the PC maker's latest job cuts, with the company expected to let go just 100 employees in the Republic on a voluntary redundancy basis. Read the full story as reported by ENN.
The same paper says that Eircom and its trade unions have accepted an invitation from the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to attend a meeting on Monday aimed at resolving the ongoing pay dispute. Despite the upcoming meeting the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and Impact have both served Eircom with seven days notice of their intention to take industrial action.
The paper also writes that 29 percent of Government departments do not have a disaster recovery plan in place and have no plan to implement such a strategy in the near future, according to a survey from HP. Read more details of the survey on ENN.
Research firm iReach has announced details of the third annual BT Inspired IT Awards, which recognises excellence in technology projects, according to the Irish Times. The closing date for entries is 4 October, and the awards will be presented at the Burlington Hotel on 25 October.
The same paper reports that Mayo software company CBE, which employs 110 staff, has opened a new head office and R&D centre at the IDA Business Park in Claremorris. The announcement forms part of a EUR6 million development plan by the firm, which makes electronic point-of-sale software for supermarkets, hotels, pubs and restaurants.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a federal criminal investigation into stock-options backdating at chipmaker Broadcom is now probing allegations of drug usage and other excesses by the company's co-founder and former chief executive, Henry T. Nicholas III. The allegations came to light in a civil lawsuit filed earlier this year by Kenji Kato, a former personal assistant and bodyguard to Nicholas. An attorney for Nicholas strongly denies the allegations.
The same paper says that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it filed a case in federal court in Sydney against auto dealer Trading Post Australia and various Google subsidiaries, alleging deceptive business practices in its web advertising by the search giant. Google has said it will fight the allegations.
The Financial Times reports that Motorola's chief executive Ed Zander is facing shareholder calls for his resignation, after the mobile phone maker announced on Wednesday that handset sales fell 32 percent in the second quarter. In a third profit warning this year, the company said it would be loss-making in the second quarter and added that it no longer expects its core mobile device business to be profitable for the full year.
The paper also says that cable company Virgin Media has appointed a second investment bank, UBS, in an bid to attract buying interest from US and international cable firms amid concerns that the current volatile market could make a private equity deal less attractive. Last week, Virgin Media's board appointed Goldman Sachs to review "strategic alternatives" after it received an offer proposal from Carlyle Group, the private equity company.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 