Also. . .

* Electronic Data Systems Corp. has offered early retirement to about 8,000 employees, or 11% of its work force, and said it expects to lay off an unspecified number of staffers by the end of the year. The number of layoffs depends in part upon how many people accept the early-retirement offer, said company spokesman Reed Byrum. The new round of reductions is on top of 5,200 positions that the Plano, Texas-based information services company eliminated beginning in April. EDS Chief Executive Richard H. Brown pledged last month at an investor conference to slash an additional $1 billion from the company’s $17-billion overall cost structure. When Brown joined EDS in January, he announced a mandate to make the company more competitive against rivals in the rapidly growing computer services business.

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