Business briefs

Icelandair has exercised an option to buy two more 787s, the Boeing Co. announced Wednesday. Icelandair originally ordered two Dreamliners in February 2005 for delivery in 2010. The two additional planes are set for delivery in 2012, Boeing said. The two 787-8s are worth more than $284 million at list prices. However, analysts say Boeing has been offering discounts of up to 25 percent on 787 deals. With the order, Boeing now has 345 firm orders for the 787. Assembly of the first of the planes is scheduled to start later this year.

Zumiez reports more sales growth

Everett-based Zumiez Inc., a retailer of sports-related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories, announced Wednesday that total net sales for the five-week period that ended April 1 increased 37.3 percent to $18.4 million, compared with $13.4 million for the five-week period that ended April 2, 2005. The company’s comparable store sales increased 14.3 percent for the period, versus an increase of 14.2 percent a year ago.

Boeing 787 partner plans to lay off 600

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., a key Boeing Co. supplier and a partner on the new 787, plans to lay off up to 600 people, primarily at its Dallas headquarters. Vought is the parent company of Contour Aerospace in Everett. A spokeswoman could not be reached for comment, and it was not clear whether the layoffs would extend to Everett. Vought said Tuesday it lost $230 million in 2005 and needed to restructure. The layoffs were announced a day after the company disclosed that its chief financial officer had resigned in January.

JetBlue growth plan worries analysts

As the U.S. airline industry unraveled over the past five years, JetBlue Airways Corp. proved that a carrier with the right mix of low overhead, cheap fares and distinguished service could succeed during a punishing downturn. But because of an aggressive growth plan, JetBlue is being lumped in with some of the large airline with dim financial pictures.

IRS looking closely at smaller firms

Lawmakers accused the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday of unfairly targeting small businesses with more audits and burdensome rules in its drive to collect unpaid taxes. Certain small businesses are getting increased scrutiny in the current phase of an IRS research project studying the sources of the tax gap – the annual amount of taxes that goes unpaid. The most recent estimate put the 2001 tax gap at $345 billion.

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