(Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch)
Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, whose logo is projected on a wall of its New York headquarters, will lay off 700 people - 10 percent of its work force - company officials announced yesterday. AOL, based in Northern Virginia before its acquisition by Time Warner, is being squeezed by the recession and is trying to focus on three advertising businesses. Time Warner, the world's biggest media company, will post a loss for 2008, its first in six years. The firm also plans job cuts at publishing unit Time Inc. (photo cutline) VIRGINIA
Job fairs set next week for Circuit City workers
Circuit City Stores Inc. will host two job fairs next week at its corporate headquarters for current and former company employees in the Richmond area.
The Henrico County-based retailer announced Jan. 16 that it was shutting down and liquidating all its assets.
About 1,500 local employees will lose their jobs in the next several weeks.
As part of the job fair Tuesday and Wednesday, the company will provide sessions on resume writing, interview skills and using online resources to look for work.
The company also is posting potential job openings on the networking site LinkedIn.com.
Companies interested in attending the fair may e-mail
hr.administration@circuitcity.com.
Virginia Natural Gas promotes conservation
NORFOLK - Virginia Natural Gas has launched a conservation program designed to encourage consumers to reduce the volume of gas they use.
It's the first plan submitted to state regulators under a new state law that allows gas utilities to encourage consumers to reduce gas consumption while protecting the utilities' income.
Begun yesterday, the energySMART program offers incentives to buy high-efficiency natural-gas furnaces and water heaters and to conduct seasonal checkups of heating and air conditioning systems.
It also offers free programmable thermostats.
Norfolk-based Virginia Natural Gas serves more than 270,000 customers from Hanover County to southeast Virginia.
Media General will sell Jacksonville TV station
Richmond-based Media General Inc. said yesterday it has agreed to sell its WCWJ television station in Jacksonville, Fla., to Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc., an Irving, Texas-based chain of stations.
WCWJ, part of the CW network, has about 30 employees. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter.
The station is the last of five that Media General, which owns the Richmond Times-Dispatch, announced in 2007 that it planned to divest.
In 2008, the company sold WTVQ in Lexington, Ky.; WMBB in Panama City, Fla.; KALB/NALB in Alexandria, La., and WNEG in Toccoa, Ga.
The company said it is using total proceeds of $95 million to $100 million from the sales to reduce debt.
Dividends declared
- Stanley Furniture Co. Inc. of Stanleytown announced yesterday that it will suspend payment of quarterly cash dividends on its common stock, effective immediately. The move will provide annualized cash savings of about $4 million.
- Major area employer Wells Fargo & Co. declared a regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share, payable March 1 to shareholders as of Feb. 6.
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO
MEMO: Excerpted from BUSINESS BRIEFS
Originally published by Staff and Wire Reports.
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