Pinnacle Foods will add warehouse, jobs
New Jersey-based Pinnacle Foods plans to expand its manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, adding a warehouse that will create new jobs.
The company announced plans Monday to build a 164,000-square-foot warehouse at its 15th Street food-processing facility. Once operational "numerous employees" will be hired, according to a news release.
"This project is good for the environment and our economy," Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan said in a statement.
The privately held company plans to open with its new expansion in the fall. Pinnacle Foods is known for brands such as Vlasic, Wishbone and Aunt Jemima.
-- Nathan Owens
Wage average to top $13, Wal-Mart says
Wal-Mart said Monday that the new average hourly wage for full-time workers in Arkansas will be $13.83 when pay raises are implemented during the company's Feb. 17 pay cycle.
Wage increases for its Arkansas employees are expected to total more than $23 million. The companywide move to hourly starting pay of $11 an hour is in addition to wage increases already planned for many U.S. markets this year, the company said.
In addition, Wal-Mart said more than 26,000 Arkansas employees are expected to be eligible for a recently announced one-time cash bonus. Employees eligible for bonuses will receive between $200 to $1,000, depending on their length of service with Wal-Mart. The bonuses handed out to Arkansas workers are expected to total about $11.2 million.
Wal-Mart said the wage increases, bonuses and additional employee benefits are the result of the new corporate tax structure. The company announced the increases the same day it revealed plans to close 63 Sam's Clubs stores across the U.S., affecting about 10,000 workers. None of the clubs closing are in Arkansas.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
State index up 3.36 after deal gels in D.C.
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 3.36 to a record close of 433.43 Monday.
"Wall Street's main indexes hit record closing highs on Monday in the wake of a deal by U.S. senators to end the federal government shutdown," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 20.9 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 01/23/2018