Gateway Plans Expansion to Meet Demand

Gateway Inc. said it will add 1,000 workers as it expands a plant in Virginia to meet rising demand for its personal computers. Gateway, the second-largest direct seller of PCs, behind Dell Computer Corp., is seeing strong demand for computers sold through its YourWare leasing program, which lets users pay $50 a month for a computer and Internet access. In the fourth quarter, Gateway’s PC shipments rose 35%, compared with 15% for the industry as a whole. The company said it will build a campus adjacent to its Hampton, Va., plant for vendors and component suppliers, an effort to streamline manufacturing. Plans are to hire about 300 people this year and 700 more by 2001 at the plant, which now employs 2,100 full- and part-time workers. Up to 100 more people are scheduled to be added this year to staff an off-site facility on the new vendor campus. Shares in North Sioux City, S.D.-based Gateway fell $2.50 to close at $74 on the New York Stock Exchange.