Business Briefs UNION SUPPORTS FRONTIERSPIRIT MERGER

WASHINGTON The largest union for U.S. flight attendants threw its support Tuesday behind Frontier Airlines’ proposal to buy Spirit Airlines after it reached a deal with Frontier on how to combine cabin crews at the two carriers.

The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents crews at both airlines, said the agreement with Frontier covers job, seniority and contract protections.

The union said the deal bars Frontier and Spirit from merging their operations until a new contract is ratified by union members. It said no flight attendants could be furloughed because of route changes that occur during the merger process.

Netflix lays off about 150 workers.

Following Netflix’s announcement last month that it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade, the streaming behemoth said Tuesday that it was laying off some 150 people across the company, primarily in the United States, representing 2% of its total workforce.

There are likely to be additional layoffs later this year, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Walmart profits drop.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is being hit hard by inflation. The company reported Tuesday that its profit in the first three months of the year fell 25% from a year ago, an unexpectedly large drop that Walmart blamed on broadly higher costs, particularly in labor and fuel.

The drop meant that for the first time in many years, Walmart did not meet Wall Street’s profit expectations, an ominous signal for others trying to navigate the current inflationary environment.