Gateway Execs Get Severance

Gateway Inc. paid $13.3 million in severance to five top executives replaced in January when company founder and Chairman Ted Waitt took back the chief executive’s job at the No. 2 direct seller of personal computers. The cash payments included $5.6 million to Jeff Weitzen, who joined Gateway in 1998 and became CEO at the start of 2000, according to the San Diego-based company’s proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Weitzen also received immediate vesting of options to buy 2.5 million that weren’t exercisable at the time he left. Gateway shares fell 31 cents to close at $14.74 on the New York Stock Exchange.