CIO —
1. "Sun to Cut as Many as 5,000 Jobs,"
Computerworld, 5/31. After barely a month in his new role as chief executive officer, Sun’s Jonathan Schwartz is finally doing what analysts have been begging the financially troubled company to do for some time: restructure. He committed to lay off as many as 5,000 Sun staff, or 13 percent, sell some of the vendor’s real estate and simplify its product line, all with the aim of boosting profits. Sun hopes to realize maximum annual savings from these moves of US$590 million. One analyst suggested Schwartz is streamlining Sun so the company would be more attractive to would-be buyers.
2. "Google CEO Reiterates Concerns Over IE7,"
CIO.com, 6/1. While the search engine company rushed to quash rumors that it might be developing its own Web browser, Google was also quick to stomp all over Microsoft’s planned Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) offering. Google CEO Eric Schmidt this week restated his company’s concerns about IE7, which is currently in beta testing. The Microsoft browser contains a search box set by default to Gates Inc.’s search engine. Google has complained to both the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, with the DoJ already dismissing the vendor’s concerns as groundless. Schmidt stated that Google doesn’t see any user need to develop its own Web browser given the already healthy competition Microsoft faces from Firefox, Opera and Apple’s Safari.
3. "EU Called Wrong to Allow Passenger Data Release,"
CIO.com, 5/30. The European Court of Justice this week ruled that the European Union’s decision in May 2004 to share personal information with American authorities about passengers flying from the union to the United States was illegal. The information included details of passengers’ names, addresses and travel schedules and came in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The court will allow the agreement to stand for another four months. During that time, the European Commission and U.S. authorities will work out how to proceed to ensure that the exchange of data continues and transatlantic flights aren’t disrupted when the agreement expires in September.
4. "CA Delays Final Q4, FY ’06 Financials, Restates Q3,"
CIO.com, 5/30. Software vendor CA still isn’t out of the woods with its financials. The company is midway through a transformation of its entire business in an attempt to distance itself from an accounting scandal that occurred several years ago. However, in a surprise announcement this week, CA revealed it would delay issuing its final fourth-quarter and full fiscal 2006 results and restate its third-quarter financials. At fault appears to be a new sales commission plan that wasn’t properly tied into the company’s overall financial performance. The vendor’s latest misstep follows the recent departure of several senior executives including CA’s chief financial officer, chief operations officer and chief technology officer.
