Sioux City Journal

Gateway lays off North Sioux City workers

2:05 PM

By Dave Dreeszen Business Editor | Posted: Wednesday, November 28, 2007

NORTH SIOUX CITY -- About 50 Gateway workers in North Sioux City were laid off today. The employees, who were given a 60-day notice, worked in support functions such as finance, marketing, human resources.

An equal number of workers at Gateway's headquarters in Irvine, Calif., also were given pink slips today, said a company spokesman.

Taiwan-based Acer bought Gateway earlier this year in a $700 million deal. Before today's annoucnement, Gateway's former headquarters and manufacturing plant in North Sioux City were home to about 450 employees who now focus on the consumer part of the PC business.

About another 450 former Gateway workers are transitioning to Idaho-based MPC Corp., which purchased Gateway's professional division in a separate $90 million transaction. MPC has signed a five-year lease for office space elsewhere in Gateway's cow-spotted complex in North Sioux City.

For a more complete story, read Thursday's print edition and online.

Story Comments

CO Transplant wrote on Dec 5, 2007 10:23 AM:

" Moved to Des Moines: I moved also but sitll miss SUX. Towne House is not the only good thing about SUX, there is Miles Inn, Sneakys, Morningside Pizza, Bob Roe's Point After. I live in Colorado and its a pretty place but I do miss the great people of Sioux City. Just wish there were good jobs. If the opportunity were to arise, I would move back, but better jobs need to be created. Tyson, John Morrel and MPC are not good employers. "

noiowaanymore wrote on Dec 4, 2007 7:40 AM:

" Left the area no good jobs, came back once 2004 big mistake, could not support my family on what the jobs payed in SC left 9mths later. Will never go back. "

Dick wrote on Dec 4, 2007 3:50 AM:

" To hammerhead. The Journal will not post what I wrote in kind to you schmuck. "

analyst wrote on Dec 3, 2007 6:02 PM:

" World wide PC demand went to half in 2001 (Wall Street Journal) so many PC companies went to the graveyard or merged. The PC market also became commoditized as well. Ted or anyone could not stop this. "

Hey Hammrd and rural living wrote on Dec 3, 2007 4:00 PM:

" Please . . . . if you know so much AND worked for Gateway, you should know that Ted's and management's mistakes provide only a partial explanation for the company's demise. Those include the bursting of the tech bubble, the end of the boom proceeding Y2K, 9/11, and the overall softening of the market and lengthening of hardware replacement cycles, the commoditization of computers, extreme lowering of prices, computer market glut, the need to consolidate and combine companies to remain competitive with suppliers, the inability to compete with Chinese production, etc. These pressures caused IBM to sell off it's PC division, HP and Compaq to merge, and now Gateway/eMachines/Acer/Packard Bell to merge; even Dell has had some problems. The IBM's and HPs of the world couldn't deal with these same issues with complete success either, but here we are beating someone over the head who created an economic and jobs boom in this area. I guess it's easier to tear down someone from your hometown, isn't it. "