Sikorsky to cut more than 500 jobs
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. took the wraps off plans for job cuts totaling 540 positions, without immediately stating the impact on its Stratford headquarters and satellite facilities in Shelton, Bridgeport and Milford, where half of its 18,000 employees work.
Sikorsky is offering voluntary separation packages for union workers in Connecticut. The latest job cuts came just a few weeks after a Sikorsky headquarters visit by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
For the first half of 2011, Sikorsky had a $418 million operating profit on revenue of $3.4 billion, up 33 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
DOL: County lost jobs in August
New Connecticut Department of Labor estimates suggest Fairfield County employers jettisoned 900 jobs in August, even as jobs statewide plummeted by 8,600 positions.
The DOL said the statewide cuts were largely the result of estimates of municipal government layoffs totaling 3 percent of that sector”™s workforce, a historically high figure that the department said it could significantly revise next month after it reviews additional data.
Private sector job cuts were stiffest in the construction sector, which contracted 1.8 percent or an estimated 900 jobs. The arts and entertainment sector recorded the best gain at 1.3 percent, or 300 jobs.
Connecticut”™s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 9 percent, compared to a U.S. unemployment rate of 9.1 percent in August.
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STORM panel to gauge CL&P, UI response
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has appointed Joe McGee as co-chairman of the State Team Organized for the Review of Management (STORM) of Irene, along with retired U.S. Army Major Gen. James Skiff.
McGee is vice president for the Stamford-based Business Council of Fairfield County.
Through mid-September, Connecticut residents and businesses had received nearly $2 million in federal assistance as they recover from Tropical Storm Irene.
The STORM panel will consider not just the response of Connecticut Light & Power Co. and United Illuminating Co., Malloy said, but also state agencies and other entities including the private sector.
Other members include:
- Peter Carozza, president of the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters;
- Terry Edelstein, president of the Connecticut Community Providers Association;
- Lee Hoffman, an attorney with Pullman & Comley;
- Mayor Scott Jackson of Hamden;
- Robert McGrath, former fire chief, Stamford; and
- Cathy Osten, first selectman for Sprague.
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Rogue trader costs UBS $2.3B
A rogue trader”™s losses could total $2.3 billion for UBS AG, which last month committed to maintaining a major trading floor in Stamford in exchange for some $20 million in state incentives.
London police arrested Kweku Adoboli, a trader in UBS”™s global synthetic equity business in London. UBS stated no client investments were affected, but analysts said the company could report a loss for the current quarter.
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Bridgeport company gets $8M loan
First Niagara Financial Group Inc. has extended an $8 million loan to Northeast Builders Supply & Home Centers, a lumber and building materials supply and commercial real estate company based in Bridgeport.
NBS employs some 70 people at locations in Bridgeport, New Canaan and Cornwall.
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Banks carp on lending fund process
No Fairfield County bank was included in a Sept. 14 tranche from the Small Business Lending Fund, with the U.S. Treasury awarding some $600 million nationally. Through that date, the only local bank to receive SBLF funding has been BNC Financial Group Inc., the parent company of Bank of New Canaan, Bank of Fairfield and Stamford First Bank.
The American Bankers Association has complained that banks are receiving rejection notices just weeks before the program is set to expire in September, with little information on how they can improve their application to qualify.
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Study: State”™s small business activity contracted
Connecticut ranked third-worst in the nation for its small-business growth rate, according to economists at the University of Connecticut.
Only West Virginia and Ohio had a bigger contraction in small business activity than Connecticut between 1996 and 2006 at the peak of the last economic cycle.
Maine led Northeast states with about a 10 percent growth rate over the decade studied by UConn, ranked 19th nationally, while New York ranked 23rd at just under 10 percent.
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Pitney Bowes volleys new service
Stamford-based Pitney Bowes Inc. said it has signed agreements for its Volly digital bill and statement service with third-party mailers representing some 1,800 brands across financial services, health care, utilities and other industries.
Pitney Bowes”™ Volly partners include Superior Mailing Services, which handled the U.S. Census in 2010.
Volly is a cloud-based digital platform allowing consumers to pay bills and view statements, coupons and other corporate communications for free.
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Danbury company expands service area
Tech Air is acquiring Providence, R.I.-based Corp Brothers Inc., with both companies distributing industrial and medical gases.
Danbury-based Tech Air itself was acquired last January by New York City-based CI Capital Partners L.L.C. Tech Air said the Corp Bros. deal expands its service area to Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Corp Bros., whose roots date to 1893, began selling gases in 1924 ”“ it reportedly is the longest-running distributor of gases from Danbury-based Praxair Inc.
Norwalk man charged with insider trading
An independent movie producer has been charged with making $1.1 million in profits after allegedly trading stocks on the eve of mergers tipped to him from a friend who worked at the time for Mercer.
John Bennett, 48, of Norwalk pleaded not guilty to securities fraud charges that carry a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison. The Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing a separate civil case against Bennett.
Federal prosecutors accused Bennett of tipping off another unnamed individual who pocketed $1.5 million in trades based on the information.
New consumer counsel in state
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has appointed Elin Swanson Katz of West Hartford as consumer counsel, advocating on behalf of utility ratepayers.
A onetime attorney with Day Pitney L.L.P. focused on land and environment casework, Katz most recently was a professional writing consultant for law firms and businesses while teaching at Trinity College. She also worked for the former Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
