GM puts off Detroit plant's closure till '20
DETROIT -- General Motors is extending the life of its only Detroit factory until early next year.
The plant in the hamlet of Hamtramck, Mich., on the U.S.-Canada border was to stop making vehicles as of June 1. But the company now says production of the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac CT6 will continue into January.
The factory is one of five that GM plans to shutter as part of a restructuring to cut costs and reduce underused plants.
In all, GM is shedding about 6,000 factory jobs and another 8,000 salaried positions.
The company says the plant will stay open as it produces a high-performance version of the CT6 and vehicles with its "Super Cruise" advanced driver assist system.
But the plant is likely to close early next year.
GM announced the restructuring plans in November. In addition to the Detroit plant, the company plans to stop making cars and transmissions at factories in Lordstown, Ohio; Oshawa, Ontario; Warren, Mich.; and near Baltimore. The company says it has 2,700 jobs available for factory workers at other U.S. plants.
-- The Associated Press
Computer glitch delays Southwest flights
Southwest Airlines Co. experienced almost 600 flight delays nationwide Friday, according to tracking service FlightAware, after a computer problem caused the carrier to temporarily park its fleet.
The airline asked the Federal Aviation Administration to declare a "brief" ground stop after a glitch with software that automatically downloads flight plans to the agency, an FAA spokesman said in a statement. The delays represent about 15 percent of Southwest's daily schedule, according to FlightAware. Flights also were affected by heavy fog in Dallas and by air traffic congestion in Houston.
The systems problem, which the Dallas-based airline said was resolved by about 5:30 a.m., follows more than a week of increased flight delays caused by having more planes than normal out of service for mechanical problems. Southwest declared an "operational emergency" on Feb. 15, three days after the problem started, advising mechanics to show up to work as scheduled or risk losing their jobs.
On Friday, "the airline briefly suspended operations as teams worked to ensure performance of some of the airline's software systems that were upgraded overnight,"
Southwest said Tuesday that it's investigating the cause of the lingering flight disruptions, including any link to ongoing contract talks with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. The union has said Southwest is attempting to divert attention from safety problems with the claim.
-- Bloomberg News
Entergy OK'd to buy Louisiana solar power
PORT ALLEN, La. -- Entergy Corp. has been approved to buy solar power from a 50-megawatt power plant set to be built near Port Allen, La.
The New Orleans Advocate reports the state Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a 20-year agreement between Entergy and the plant owner, Arizona-based Eagle Solar Group.
The agreement is expected to save the utility giant's customers $29 million over the length of the contract. Entergy says construction on the plant is set to start in the next few months and end in 2020.
The agreement approval comes after Entergy New Orleans was found to have used paid actors to show support at public hearings for a gas-fired power plant. The New Orleans City Council approved a resolution Thursday requiring Entergy to pay a $5 million penalty.
-- The Associated Press
$464M going out to 880 Madoff victims
Victims of Bernard Madoff's $19 billion Ponzi scheme started receiving checks Friday totaling $464 million from the trustee who's been unwinding the con man's business for the past decade.
The payout to 880 customers of Madoff's bogus securities business boosts total distributions in the case to more than $12 billion, or 66.6 percent of each allowed claim, trustee Irving Picard said in a statement.
The payout is $45 million more than the trustee announced in December, because of additional settlements with customers who profited from the scam. Picard for years has been suing Madoff investors who made money off the fraud by withdrawing more cash from their accounts than they put in.
Customers who suffered certified losses of as much as $1.49 million will have been paid in full after the distribution, the statement says. Friday's payment is the 10th payout since the fund collapsed in December 2008.
-- Bloomberg News
Flight attendants accuse airline of bias
FORT WORTH -- The flight attendants' union accuses American Airlines of discriminating against its mostly female group by imposing a stricter attendance policy that can result in employees being fired quickly.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants asked the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday to investigate its claim. About 75 percent of American's flight attendants are women.
Union President Lori Bassani said in an interview that American is discriminating against women because the airline's mostly male pilot workforce does not have a similar attendance policy.
Flight attendants are given points for things such as calling in sick during the holidays or after being asked to replace another absent flight attendant. Bassani said 10 points get a flight attendant fired, and "a few" have been terminated.
American didn't comment immediately.
-- The Associated Press
Financial exec to lead auto-dealer chain
DETROIT -- AutoNation, the country's largest auto dealership chain, went outside the auto industry to find its new chief executive, appointing a top leader from the USAA financial services company.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., chain announced Friday that Carl Liebert will take over for the retiring Mike Jackson on March 11.
Liebert is now USAA's chief operating officer, but he has retailing experience from working at Home Depot, where he was executive vice president of stores for the home supply and lumber chain with more than 2,000 outlets. Liebert also worked for General Electric, and was responsible for USAA's business strategy and customer experience operations, AutoNation said in a statement.
He led USAA's property and casualty insurance unit, as well as its federal savings bank and investment companies, the statement said.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 02/23/2019
Read again Business news in brief - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette : https://ift.tt/2tBwmX8Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Business news in brief - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette"
Post a Comment