Stolen laptop has employees' data

Administaff Inc., which provides temporary employees for small- and medium-sized businesses including in Central Florida, is warning 159,000 current and former workers that their personal data may be compromised because of a stolen laptop. The data wasn't encrypted when it was stored on the portable computer, which is password-protected, the company said Monday in a statement. The company said the computer was reported stolen Oct. 3. The theft was probably a random event, and there's no indication yet of improper use of the information, the company said. Administaff is offering current and former employees one year of free credit monitoring with fraud-resolution assistance. The confidential data was being compiled in response to a government reporting requirement and included names, addresses and Social Security numbers for most employees paid by Administaff in 2006, the company said.

Burnham appoints new executive

Burnham Institute for Medical Research has appointed Cyril Doucet as vice president, operations and administration for Burnham at Lake Nona. In that capacity he will be responsible for management of Burnham's growing operations in Orlando as the institute prepares to move from its temporary facilities to its permanent Florida campus at Lake Nona in 2009. "Cyril Doucet's extensive experience with nonprofit and academic medical-research institutes enables him to easily step into his new role with Burnham," said Karin Eastham, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

AOL to cut 2,000 more jobs

AOL is eliminating another 2,000 jobs worldwide as it tries to cut costs and make room to grow in online advertising. The 20 percent slice from AOL's work force comes after several rounds of layoffs in recent years, including a cut of 5,000 jobs last fall. The latest cuts would give AOL more flexibility to expand ad-related businesses through acquisitions and potentially new hires. AOL thinks it is now best at developing Web sites such as its Moviefone and MapQuest properties to attract people in about 30 countries, chief executive Randy Falco said. Its goal, he said, is to build "the largest and most sophisticated global advertising network" for marketers to reach that online audience.

UPS chief executive to retire

UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, said Monday that chief executive Mike Eskew will retire at the end of the year after six years at the helm and more than three decades with the company. Chief Financial Officer Scott Davis will replace Eskew, the Atlanta-based company said in a statement. The move was not much of a surprise, although Eskew, 58, had not said previously when he would step down. In an interview in advance of UPS' 100-year anniversary in August, Eskew told The Associated Press that he wasn't making any predictions of when he might move on. "At some point you think, we all think, it's time to let somebody else do this," Eskew said in the interview. "Somebody else might have a different, fresher approach." Eskew assumed the role of chairman and CEO on Jan. 1, 2002. Davis, 55, joined UPS in 1986.

Chrysler contract goes to rank and file

There was some dissent and a lot of questions, but in the end, local United Auto Workers leaders voted to recommend approval of a new four-year contract with Chrysler LLC that is similar to one ratified last week with General Motors Corp. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the deal was approved overwhelmingly by voice vote among several hundred local union presidents and bargaining committee chairs. The vote clears the way for the union to present the pact to about 45,000 Chrysler workers covered by the contract, and balloting was expected to get under way in the next day or two.