University of Washington lays off 66 technology workers

The University of Washington announced today it is laying off 66 employees from its technology division.

It's one of the largest cutbacks at the university in at least a decade.

UW Technology Vice President Ron Johnson says the increasing availability of free or low-cost services on the Web through companies such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com are rendering some UW services ... such as e-mail and document sharing ... obsolete.

According to Johnson, UW's annual revenue has dropped by $10 million to $40 million.

The UW Technology division is set up to be largely self-funding, much like a small business. It relies on fees it charges to faculty and departments. About 100,000 people across the UW's three campuses and two hospitals use its services, including phone and e-mail systems.

Johnson says the remaining 360 or so UW employees should be secure in their jobs because many core functions, such as payroll and Internet services, won't be going away.

(The Seattle Times; not for online use in the Seattle area)