September 3, 2016 at 5:45 a.m.
Wal-Mart shedding 7,000 jobs
Business Roundup
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced this week it is eliminating another 7,000 jobs, mostly in the areas of accounting and invoicing.
Similar cuts were announced in June, and the latest reduction in jobs follows that trend.
The move is an effort to put more employees on the sales floor while eliminating back-office jobs. Those whose positions are being eliminated will be offered a chance to move to the sales floor.
The country’s largest retailer employs about 1.5 million people.
President to retire
Mike Andres announced this week he will retire as president of McDonalds in the U.S.
Andres, 58, who is seen by many as the key force in the company’s efforts to re-invent itself, will step down at the end of the year.
His successor will be Chris Kempczinski, who is now an executive vice president and formerly was with Kraft.
The company’s chief administrative officer Pete Bensen announced in August that he too will retire.
“The departures are a sign that the rapid transformation at McDonald's over the past 18 months is shifting into higher gear. McDonald's has taken a number of steps to reinvent itself and jump-start its business over the past year and a half, but the gains have started to slow. Americans also are eating out less, compounding the slowdown,” The Chicago Tribune reported.
Tyson helps
The Meals that Matter program of Tyson Foods Inc. stepped in with significant disaster relief after flooding hit Louisiana last month.
Cook teams from a number of Tyson locations served 130,000 meals over nine days in Baton Route to flood victims and volunteers. More than 60,000 homes were damaged for destroyed in the August flooding.
“From the moment we arrived in Baton Rouge, we could tell there was a significant need to feed the community,” Pat Bourke, Tyson Foods’ corporate social responsibility program manager, said in a prepared statement. “Our volunteers served a record number of meals for a nine day deployment and I could not be more proud of their effort.”
Meals that Matter was launched as a disaster relief program in 2012. A 53-foot semi-trailer is equipped with enough refrigerated space to store up to 20,000 pounds of food product. The company says Meals that Matter can provide more than 10,000 meals per day.
Big donor
POET Biorefining, which has an ethanol plant southwest of Portland, has been identified as the largest political contributor in South Dakota this election year.
The company has donated more than $564,150 so far through its political action committee and its employees to a broad group of House and Senate candidates, both Republicans and Democrats.
South Dakota news outlets said recipients included Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the National Republican Committee, and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Stock jumps
Share prices for Allegheny Technologies Inc., parent company of Portland Forge, jumped about 11 percent this week after stock analysts raised their rating from “hold” to “buy.”
Analysts at Deutsche Bank changed their rating in response to ATI’s decision to idle some of its titanium operations in Utah and Oregon. The action was expected to improve ATI’s annual operating income by about $50 million beginning next year.
Now generating
Indiana Michigan Power’s largest of four solar power plants is now generating energy, the utility company announced this week. Combined, I&M’s three solar power plants are generating more than 10 megawatts, enough to power more than 1,400 homes annually.
A fourth plant, located in Watervliet, Michigan, is expected to begin generating power later this year. The three solar plants already in operation are located outside of Marion, east of Mishawaka, and east of New Carlisle.
Completion of the first three plants came together in less than 19 months after I&M received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulator Commission.
I&M’s electricity comes from nuclear, hydro, coal, and power purchase agreements. The company said about 60 percent of its electricity comes from non-carbon-emitting sources.
Correlation found
A study by an assistant professor of sociology at Columbia University has found a correlation between the worst Walmart stores and low-income minority communities.
The study evaluated customer service at 2,840 Walmart locations in the U.S.
Those in lower income areas were found to have “significantly worse” customer reviews on Yelp, an internet consumer review site.
The study’s author, Adam Reich, blamed the difference on the company’s decision to understaff stores in certain areas.
Moms, careers
CVS Health been experimenting with a program that helps young mothers become trained as pharmacy technicians.
The Boston Globe reported this week that eight young mothers in the Boston area took part in the program, which was a partnership between CVS and Roca, a non-profit organization that tries to keep high-risk young men and women by giving them a future.
The Globe reported that five of the women were offered full-time jobs after the 10-week training program.
“Our team has a mission of breaking the cycle of poverty, and that is, word for word, part of the mission of Roca,” David Casey, vice president for workforce strategies and chief diversity officer for CVS Health, told The Globe.
The participants took part in four-hour classes every Saturday while their children were at the non-profit’s daycare center.
New services
Adams Memorial Hospital is joining with the Center for Colorectal Cancer in Fort Wayne to offer additional services for colon and rectal care in Adams and surrounding counties.
Dr. Joshua Wallet, Dr. Charles Morrison, and Dr. Nadine Floyd will be working through Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur.
For further information, contact the Decatur Clinic at Adams Memorial Hospital at (260) 436-0259.
Football box
Pizza Hut’s trying something new with a promotion this fall that involves a special box.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the chain — part of Yum Brands — will be using a pizza box that turns into a “finger-football field.”
The medium pizza box will have a printed football playing field on the top and will have goal posts, a scorecard, and little punch-out paper footballs.
One industry observer said the promotion is “so silly it just might work.”
Similar cuts were announced in June, and the latest reduction in jobs follows that trend.
The move is an effort to put more employees on the sales floor while eliminating back-office jobs. Those whose positions are being eliminated will be offered a chance to move to the sales floor.
The country’s largest retailer employs about 1.5 million people.
President to retire
Mike Andres announced this week he will retire as president of McDonalds in the U.S.
Andres, 58, who is seen by many as the key force in the company’s efforts to re-invent itself, will step down at the end of the year.
His successor will be Chris Kempczinski, who is now an executive vice president and formerly was with Kraft.
The company’s chief administrative officer Pete Bensen announced in August that he too will retire.
“The departures are a sign that the rapid transformation at McDonald's over the past 18 months is shifting into higher gear. McDonald's has taken a number of steps to reinvent itself and jump-start its business over the past year and a half, but the gains have started to slow. Americans also are eating out less, compounding the slowdown,” The Chicago Tribune reported.
Tyson helps
The Meals that Matter program of Tyson Foods Inc. stepped in with significant disaster relief after flooding hit Louisiana last month.
Cook teams from a number of Tyson locations served 130,000 meals over nine days in Baton Route to flood victims and volunteers. More than 60,000 homes were damaged for destroyed in the August flooding.
“From the moment we arrived in Baton Rouge, we could tell there was a significant need to feed the community,” Pat Bourke, Tyson Foods’ corporate social responsibility program manager, said in a prepared statement. “Our volunteers served a record number of meals for a nine day deployment and I could not be more proud of their effort.”
Meals that Matter was launched as a disaster relief program in 2012. A 53-foot semi-trailer is equipped with enough refrigerated space to store up to 20,000 pounds of food product. The company says Meals that Matter can provide more than 10,000 meals per day.
Big donor
POET Biorefining, which has an ethanol plant southwest of Portland, has been identified as the largest political contributor in South Dakota this election year.
The company has donated more than $564,150 so far through its political action committee and its employees to a broad group of House and Senate candidates, both Republicans and Democrats.
South Dakota news outlets said recipients included Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the National Republican Committee, and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Stock jumps
Share prices for Allegheny Technologies Inc., parent company of Portland Forge, jumped about 11 percent this week after stock analysts raised their rating from “hold” to “buy.”
Analysts at Deutsche Bank changed their rating in response to ATI’s decision to idle some of its titanium operations in Utah and Oregon. The action was expected to improve ATI’s annual operating income by about $50 million beginning next year.
Now generating
Indiana Michigan Power’s largest of four solar power plants is now generating energy, the utility company announced this week. Combined, I&M’s three solar power plants are generating more than 10 megawatts, enough to power more than 1,400 homes annually.
A fourth plant, located in Watervliet, Michigan, is expected to begin generating power later this year. The three solar plants already in operation are located outside of Marion, east of Mishawaka, and east of New Carlisle.
Completion of the first three plants came together in less than 19 months after I&M received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulator Commission.
I&M’s electricity comes from nuclear, hydro, coal, and power purchase agreements. The company said about 60 percent of its electricity comes from non-carbon-emitting sources.
Correlation found
A study by an assistant professor of sociology at Columbia University has found a correlation between the worst Walmart stores and low-income minority communities.
The study evaluated customer service at 2,840 Walmart locations in the U.S.
Those in lower income areas were found to have “significantly worse” customer reviews on Yelp, an internet consumer review site.
The study’s author, Adam Reich, blamed the difference on the company’s decision to understaff stores in certain areas.
Moms, careers
CVS Health been experimenting with a program that helps young mothers become trained as pharmacy technicians.
The Boston Globe reported this week that eight young mothers in the Boston area took part in the program, which was a partnership between CVS and Roca, a non-profit organization that tries to keep high-risk young men and women by giving them a future.
The Globe reported that five of the women were offered full-time jobs after the 10-week training program.
“Our team has a mission of breaking the cycle of poverty, and that is, word for word, part of the mission of Roca,” David Casey, vice president for workforce strategies and chief diversity officer for CVS Health, told The Globe.
The participants took part in four-hour classes every Saturday while their children were at the non-profit’s daycare center.
New services
Adams Memorial Hospital is joining with the Center for Colorectal Cancer in Fort Wayne to offer additional services for colon and rectal care in Adams and surrounding counties.
Dr. Joshua Wallet, Dr. Charles Morrison, and Dr. Nadine Floyd will be working through Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur.
For further information, contact the Decatur Clinic at Adams Memorial Hospital at (260) 436-0259.
Football box
Pizza Hut’s trying something new with a promotion this fall that involves a special box.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the chain — part of Yum Brands — will be using a pizza box that turns into a “finger-football field.”
The medium pizza box will have a printed football playing field on the top and will have goal posts, a scorecard, and little punch-out paper footballs.
One industry observer said the promotion is “so silly it just might work.”
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