Business briefs
Published 8:14 pm Friday, February 1, 2008
About 113,000 employees of the Boeing Co., including 47,000 in the Puget Sound area, will receive up to three week’s extra pay on Feb. 21. Boeing has not yet set the total payout, which is determined by how well the company met 2007 financial targets. The incentive plan covers nonunion workers, including engineers and technical workers. Machinists, who have a separate contract, will not receive the bonus.
Early labor report indicates downturn
Employers cut 17,000 jobs nationwide in January, the first such reduction in more than four years, the Labor Department reported preliminarily Friday. The data is based on a survey of companies, but the smallest firms often miss the deadline for the initial totals. If the job-loss figure stands when the revised numbers come out in a few weeks, however, it will be the first time payrolls have shrunk in four years.
Dell cuts more jobs in restructuring
Dell Inc. is cutting more than 1,200 jobs, about 900 of them at a call center in Canada, as the computer maker reduces its sales and support work force. It’s one of the biggest layoffs at Dell since the company announced it would reduce its work force by 10 percent. The company had 88,500 employees worldwide at the end of October.
Former Wal-Mart leader avoids prison
Wal-Mart’s former No. 2 executive avoided a prison term Friday when a federal judge resentenced him for tax evasion and fraud convictions. The judge added only 1,500 hours of community service to Tom Coughlin’s punishment. In 2006, a federal judge sentenced Coughlin to 27 months of home detention, five years’ probation, a $50,000 fine and $400,000 restitution. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the sentence was too lenient.
Groups question buyout of lender
Consumer groups in four states have asked congressional banking and finance committees to conduct hearings on Bank of America Corp.’s proposed $4.1 billion buyout of struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The groups from California, New York, New Jersey and North Carolina sent letters requesting that lawmakers investigate the possible impact on Countrywide borrowers.
Disney resigns CEO to five-year deal
The Walt Disney Co. has signed Chief Executive Robert Iger to a new five-year contract that will pay him an annual salary of $2 million plus bonuses and stock awards that could be worth millions more. Under the deal, Iger could receive an annual incentive bonus of $10 million or more, along with long-term benefits.
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