The News Tribune in Tacoma will lay off one employee and accept voluntary buyouts from 17 others in a second round of staff cuts, the newspaper said. Six of the 18 departures will come from the paper’s full-time newsroom staff. “This has been a very stressful and difficult summer and fall because of the necessity to cut employees,” News Tribune Publisher David Zeeck said Wednesday in announcing the cuts. In July, 82 News Tribune workers left the paper as a result of a similar offer. Since then, the paper offered buyouts to 189 of its 458 full-time employees. Because of the departure of four reporters, the paper plans to shift other newsroom staff members into reporting positions, Executive Editor Karen Peterson said.
Rite Aid losses prompt shakeup
Drugstore operator Rite Aid shook up its management ranks Thursday after posting a higher second-quarter loss because of disappointing results at stores acquired from Brooks Eckerd and heavy promotional spending. The company hired two former Pathmark Stores Inc. executives, including rehiring John T. Standley as president and chief operating officer, and three top Rite Aid executives left the company. The company also cut its expectations for full-year results. Rite Aid, the third-largest U.S. drugstore chain, said its loss swelled to $222 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with $78.2 million, or 10 cents per share, a year ago.
Wrigley board approves sale
Shareholders of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. have approved the company’s $23 billion sale to Mars Inc., a move that will end more than a century of family control as the chewing-gum firm becomes part of what will now be the world’s largest candy maker. The deal, expected to be finalized around Oct. 6, joins the company that makes gums such as Juicy Fruit and Big Red with the privately held maker of M&Ms, Snickers and Skittles, bumping Britain’s Cadbury PLC from the top candy-making slot.
Bankruptcy judge OKs GM pact
A bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved an agreement between General Motors Corp. and Delphi Corp. that settles what GM will give and get as its former parts subsidiary exits bankruptcy. Ahead of the hearing, Delphi negotiated changes to appease creditors who had originally objected to the deal. The creditors committee will now get some Delphi shares that would have gone to GM under a $2.06 billion claim. The creditors could get stock worth up to 20 percent of their claims, and GM would get the rest.
Economy is bad news in triplicate
Weekly jobless claims surged to the highest level in seven years, durable goods orders took a bigger-than-expected tumble and new home sales plunged to the slowest pace in 17 years, according to government data released Thursday. The latest trifecta of bad news about the economy raised new worries about a possible recession and underscored the concerns that are driving Congress and the White House to reach agreement on a historic bailout of the financial system.
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