WASHINGTON >> The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits stayed at a 43-year low last week in the latest sign that layoffs are scarce.
Weekly applications for unemployment benefits were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 246,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell 3,500, to 249,250. Both figures were at their lowest levels since November 1973.
The number of people receiving aid fell 16,000 to just over 2 million. That is the fewest since June 2000.
Office Depot to close for Thanksgiving
NEW YORK >> Office Depot Inc. says it will close its stores for Thanksgiving, after three years of being open on the holiday.
The office supplies chain said Thursday it reached the decision after weighing both business and personal factors, joining a growing list of retailers who are reversing the trend of being open on the holiday.
Office Depot said shoppers can still find deals and buy items online on Thanksgiving, but the stores won’t reopen this year until Black Friday at 6 a.m.
Amazon adding 120,000 for holiday season
NEW YORK >> Amazon plans to add 120,000 seasonal workers to meet an expected spike in demand as more and more people shop online for the holiday season.
The positions will be created at fulfillment centers, sorting centers and customer service sites in 27 states. The move marks a 20 percent boost from its 100,000 seasonal hires a year ago.
The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales for the November and December period to rise 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion. Online shopping is expected to rise 7 to 10 percent over last year to as much as $117 billion.
Verizon closing call centers in 5 states
ALBANY, N.Y. >> Verizon plans to close call centers in five states, including its home state of New York, where the impending loss of hundreds of jobs prompted the governor’s office to label the company’s move as “corporate abuse.”
The company said Thursday a consolidation of its call centers will affect about 3,200 workers near Rochester and New York; Bangor, Maine; Lincoln, Neb.; Wallingford and Meriden, Conn.; and Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Verizon has 162,000 U.S. employees.
Samsung predicts $3B hit to future profits
SEOUL >> Samsung Electronics said Friday that it expected to have about $3 billion in operating profits evaporate over the next two quarters because of its decision to ditch the troubled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.
Samsung said in a news release that the profit loss tied to that decision was expected to be in the mid-2 trillion-won range in the October-December period and about 1 trillion won ($900 million) for the first quarter of next year.
After its decision to recall millions of Note 7 devices and end production of the model, Samsung has been readjusting profit estimates. On Wednesday it revised its previously estimated profit of 7.8 trillion won for the third quarter, cutting it to 5.2 trillion won.
With the Note 7, Samsung had hoped to compete with Apple’s iPhones in the high-end smartphone market. But after some of the Note 7s were reported to heat rapidly and catch fire, it faced one of the biggest and most costly product recalls in the technology industry.
ON THE MOVE
ProService Hawaii has appointed David Kostecki as the firm’s chief financial officer. He was previously a consultant to ProService Hawaii. Before that, Kostecki served as vice president of finance, controller and chief accounting officer for Hawaiian Electric Industries.
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Ulupono Initiative has announced that Nick Redding has joined the team as a manager of social systems. Redding has 12 years of experience in system analysis, research design and business consulting, including serving as an associate professor at Columbia University.
