BUSINESS BRIEFS
AT&T plans round of job cuts, store closures
AT&T has told the Communications Workers of America union that it plans to cut more than 3,400 technician and clerical jobs across the country over the next few weeks. The company also plans to permanently close more than 250 of its Mobility and Cricket Wireless stores, which would impact 1,300 retail jobs.
AT&T said in a statement Wednesday that there will be “targeted, but sizable reductions” in its workforce that will include executives, managers and union-represented employees. The company said it will be eliminating more non-payroll workers – the vast majority of whom are outside the U.S. – than managers or union-represented employees.
AT&T added that the store closures reflect consumers’ increasing shift to online purchases.
Former Bumble Bee CEO gets jail in price fixing conspiracy
A former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods has been sentenced to more than three years in jail for his role in a canned tuna price-fixing conspiracy involving three major companies, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Christopher Lischewski was also ordered Tuesday to pay a $100,000 fine in addition to serving a 40-month term.
A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Lischewski in May 2018. He pleaded not guilty but late last year a jury convicted him of a single count of participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of canned tuna.
The Justice Department said the court found that the three-year conspiracy affected hundreds of millions of dollars in canned tuna sales.
Bumble Bee pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $25 million fine, and Starkist Co. was fined $100 million.