Update: KPNQwest dodges immediate shutdown

KPNQwest although near death, strugles on. Will it ever die? -Ed

Just hours before a deadline set by former KPNQwest staff, liquidators for the bankrupt service provider reached an agreement that should see the network kept online--albeit only till the liquidators' own deadline of 31 June. Liquidators confirmed, after the 1700 CET deadline, that the network would be kept online, probably for the rest of June, because a deal had been struck with the disgruntled former employees of KPNQwest.

The liquidators want the network kept live till the end of June in order to maintain it as an asset that is as saleable as possible. However, the staff, who have been keeping it going unpaid since they were laid off by the bankrupt service provider, demanded that all should be paid, or the network would be shut down today, effectively leaving the liquidators with a much less saleable asset. The employees have settled for a deal which guarantees to pay 70 of them for the next two weeks--a good deal short of the 350 they were reportedly hoping to keep

News source: ZDNet