Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is expected in Fort Wayne today to meet with a select group and then the media to discuss his hopes for the auto industry.
Bayh wants to use some of the economic-stimulus money expected early in the Obama administration to develop new automotive technologies to make cars more fuel efficient and safer.
Bayh believes Indiana could be at the center of that development, said Eric Kleiman, a spokesman.
Bayh will meet privately with autoworkers, parts suppliers, technology firms and others. He will have a news conference at 1 p.m. at Casa Ristorante, 7545 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Baker & Daniels LLP has cut 10 local jobs and 12 support positions in its Indianapolis office to bring the law firm’s professional-to-support-staff ratio in line with the industry, Tom Froehle, chief executive partner, said Tuesday.
No legal professionals were among the workers, whose last day was Dec. 10, Froehle said.
The staff reductions came about after an “operational review” that found younger attorneys are more comfortable and efficient with technology and have less need for clerical staff, Froehle said. The employees were given severance pay and help finding a new job.
Baker & Daniels has offices in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Chicago, Washington and Beijing. The firm of 336 lawyers includes 52 attorneys in Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne-based Rea Magnet Wire Co. is shutting down its Las Cruces, N.M., plant putting 75 employees out of work, the Las Cruces Sun News reported Monday. Rea doesn’t know whether it will reopen the plant, the newspaper said.
The newspaper cited a company statement that said weakening demand for products led it to consolidate production from Las Cruces into other plants.
Susan Boyd, Rea’s human resources manager, could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
General Electric Co. affirmed its 2008 outlook Tuesday but did not provide specific earnings-per-share targets for next year and said it will drop its practice of giving quarterly earnings forecasts going forward.
The industrial conglomerate, which makes everything from light bulbs to jet engines, has been battered this year by the financial crisis and problems with its financing arm, GE Capital. The decision to stop providing specific earnings guidance comes after the company struggled this year to meet its own forecasts.
GE also said it plans to continue paying a dividend next year, offering investors 31 cents a share each quarter during 2009.
Auto parts supplier Key Plastics LLC said Tuesday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and submitted a pre-packaged reorganization plan.
Key Plastics, which makes plastic parts such as door handles and other molded components for carmakers and suppliers, said it secured up to $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing to continue operating in bankruptcy.
Key asserted that its workers, trade creditors, suppliers and customers won’t be affected by the restructuring plan because it is seeking court approval to pay them in due course.
