Boeing to lay off more in Spokane
Published 9:00 pm Friday, January 4, 2002
As many as 100 more workers at the Boeing Co.’s Spokane plant face layoffs as the aircraft maker continues to cut costs, officials said. About 48 workers logged their last shifts at the plant west of Spokane on Dec. 14. Another 100 might be cut by summer, spokesman Dick Welsh said. Many of those could receive 60-day notices this month, he added.
The U.S. Postal Service and major mailers appeared Friday to be close to an agreement that could lead to postage rate increases by the end of June instead of in the fall, a boon to the agency that faces billions in costs stemming from anthrax-by-mail letters. Under the proposed deal, rates would go up 8.7 percent on average, providing an estimated $6 billion in additional revenue for the post office, with the cost of a first-class stamp rising 3 cents to 37 cents. This is the same increase the Postal Service announced in filing a rate case Sept. 11 – just minutes before the terrorist attacks – but the deal would let the hikes take effect months earlier on June 30.
Long-distance carrier AT&T Corp. announced Friday it will cut another 5,000 jobs and take a related $1 billion fourth-quarter restructuring charge to cover the cost of those staff cuts, as well as 5,100 others that were already planned. In a brief statement, the company said the charge, which it announced in October, will fund severance packages and other costs of reducing 5,100 employees cut in 2001 and a further 5,000 job cuts planned for 2002. Employees affected are in mainly in the company’s business, consumer and corporate units, scattered across AT&T’s U.S. facilities.
Beleaguered Enron Corp. agreed to surrender a key pipeline to would-be savior Dynegy Inc., but the former energy giant said it remains committed to a bigger $10 billion battle. Enron spokesman Mark Palmer said Friday that the company deemed the Northern Natural Gas pipeline fight a potentially expensive distraction to its desire to emerge from bankruptcy and its lawsuit claiming Dynegy illegally abandoned a plan to buy Enron for $8.4 billion.
A California appellate court has upheld a state law regulating unsolicited commercial messages in a victory for Internet users annoyed by spam clogging their e-mail. The court ruled that California can require spammers to identify their e-mail messages as advertisements. The court also said they must provide ways for recipients to get off mailing lists. Washington state also regulates spam.
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