LITTLE ROCK — 345 in N.D. to lose LM Wind Power jobs
LM Wind Power, which has a manufacturing facility in Little Rock, plans to lay off about 345 employees at its Grand Forks, N.D., plant, the Denmarkbased firm said Wednesday.
LM Wind Power had about 630 employees in Grand Forks and will have about 285 workers after the cutback.
The reason the company gave for the layoffs is that the federal government has not renewed the Production Tax Credit, which reduces the cost of producing wind energy in the United States. LM Wind Power expects U.S.
demand for wind energy to drop 70 percent next year without the credit.
In August, LM Wind Power announced it would lay off about 235 employees in Little Rock, more than half its work force.
It now has about 200 employees in Little Rock.
- David Smith Hot Springs hospitals say merger pact set
A definitive agreement has been signed for the merger of two Hot Springs hospitals, National Park Medical Center and Mercy Hospital and Clinic, according to a news release Wednesday.
Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella Healthcare, parent of National Park Medical Center, will also own Mercy Hospital and Clinic, a 282-bed facility. National Park Medical Center is a 166-bed facility.
Mercy has been owned by the Mercy Healthcare system, which includes 31 hospitals in four states.
Mercy Health, based in suburban St. Louis, also operates hospitals in Berryville, Rogers and Fort Smith.
The parties, which announced the merger in April, still need regulatory approval of the deal.
Mercy’s relationship to the Catholic Church also requires approval from the Vatican, and that process is under way. Obtaining the necessary approvals is expected to take 60 to 90 days.
Privately held Capella operates 13 hospitals in seven states, including a hospital in Russellville.
- Jack Weatherly J.B. Hunt rises 2.3% as index sheds 1.41
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 1.41 to 239.88 Wednesday.
“U.S. stocks continued their retreat as concerns surrounding the eurozone and weaker-than-expected new-home sales weighed on markets,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services gained 2.3 percent after Moody’s raised the trucker’s rating on its senior unsecured debt.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 25 on 09/27/2012