The Briefcase: Lowe's offers buyouts to corporate staff

Lowe's offers buyouts to corporate staff

Mooresville-based Lowe's, Inc. is offering buyouts to corporate staff in an attempt to reduce staff at its headquarters.

The buyout offer – known as a "voluntary separation program" – applies to corporate staff members at the company's offices in Mooresville and Wilkesboro.

A letter sent to employees Friday by Maureen Ausura, the company's executive vice president for human resources, said the company is in the midst of reviewing its operations to "streamline processes, clarify decision rights, understand the cost to serve and identify cost-savings opportunities."

Actual buyout notices are being given to eligible employees on Monday. Employees who take the buyout will receive a lump-sum payment, based on how long they've been with the company.

The company did not specify how many employees it hopes will take the buyout, but spokeswoman Julie Yenichek said "the majority" of corporate employees are eligible. Lowe's has about 5,200 employees working at the Mooresville and Wilkesboro locations.

Layoffs could follow if the buyout is not sufficient, Ausura's letter said.

McClatchy-Tribune

RockTenn to fill 30 hourly, 13 salaried jobs

RockTenn Merchandising Displays in Winston-Salem said it is hiring for 30 hourly and 13 salaried jobs.

The hourly positions are for manufacturing and distribution employees. The salaried positions are for accountants, project managers, engineers and designers.

Applicants should apply at www.rocktenn.com. Click on the careers icon.

Applicants may also apply in person from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the RockTenn building, 4720 Bethania Station Road.

RockTenn Merchandising Displays is a division of RockTenn, an integrated manufacturer of corrugated, and consumer packaging and recycling products and services.

Fran Daniel

Dalton to speak at city Rotary meeting

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton will deliver the keynote address at today's Rotary Club of Winston-Salem's monthly meeting.

Dalton, who is running for the Democratic nominee for governor, will discuss how North Carolina's economic future depends upon innovation, especially in education.

The meeting will take place at 1 p.m. at the Benton Convention Center.

Richard Craver

Report: Food-service job pay among lowest

Occupations associated with food service are among the lowest paid in North Carolina, according to a new report released Monday by the N.C. Justice Center.

Employers also offer few employment benefits, such as health insurance and paid sick days.

The restaurant industry is growing in North Carolina, with food service occupations projected to have one of the highest growth rates in the state over the next decade, the center said.

The current federal and N.C. tipped minimum wage is $2.13 an hour.

North Carolina has 340,000 workers preparing and serving food, with an average hourly wage of $9.66, translating to $20,100 a year, the report said.

About 27 percent of all tipped workers and 33 percent of waiters and waitresses live at or below the federal poverty level.

In North Carolina, four out of five workers in food-service occupations lack access to paid sick days, the report said.

Richard Craver

Caterpillar remarks draw Ill. governor's ire

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn defended the state's business climate Sunday after the head of Caterpillar Inc. blasted state political leaders in a published column for not doing enough to grow business and jobs in Illinois.

The comments from Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman came on the heels of the company's decision to bypass Illinois as it looks to build a new plant — and create 1,400 jobs — to handle work being moved from Japan.

Quinn said he was disappointed in Oberhelman's comments and that Illinois has enacted reforms and tax credits to create jobs. He said Caterpillar officials told him the facility would need ocean access.

In a column he wrote for Sunday's Chicago Tribune, Oberhelman said logistics were a factor. But he also said Illinois needed to do more for business.

Oberhelman noted that Caterpillar hasn't opened a new factory in Illinois in decades even as it's opened factories elsewhere, including one in Winston-Salem.

The Associated Press

Kendrion to create 57 jobs, spend $7.3M

Kendrion FAS Controls Inc., a manufacturer of electromagnetic systems, said Monday it will expand its operations in Shelby, creating 57 jobs and spending $7.3 million on capital investments over the next three years.

The company is eligible for a $228,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund and typically matching local incentives.

Kendrion is a subsidiary of Kendrion Binder Magnete GmbH of Germany, which is wholly owned by Netherlands-based Kendrion N.V.

Kendrion acquired the FAS Controls Inc. plant in Shelby in December. That facility has more than 200 employees. In addition to their numerous global facilities, Kendrion also operates U.S. plants in Indiana and Georgia.

Richard Craver

White House to honor Triangle nonprofit's chief

The chief executive of MCNC is being honored by the White House this week in recognition of the Triangle nonprofit organization's efforts to expand Internet service to rural regions of North Carolina.

Joe Freddoso, who has headed MCNC since 2007, is one of 11 local leaders from across the country who will be hailed Wednesday as "Champions of Change" for their efforts to improve the nation's infrastructure.

MCNC is in the midst of a $144 million expansion of its communications network, the N.C. Research and Education Network, that links most of the state's schools, colleges and universities.

MCNC expects to complete the first phase of the expansion, which involves 415 miles of fiber-optic cable, by the end of March. The larger second phase of the project, which includes 1,300 miles of newly laid fiber-optic plus about 400 miles that is being acquired from others, is on target to be completed by next summer.

McClatchy-Tribune