Gerber cuts 49 jobs at Fort Smith plant
Gerber is cutting 49 jobs in Fort Smith as the company prepares to reduce production of some baby food products at its plant, the company confirmed Friday.
In a statement, a Gerber spokesman said the move comes as the company reacts to a more competitive environment and works to become more agile in the long term.
The company plans to reduce production of its puree cups to one line and shift its infant cereal production to five days a week at the Fort Smith location. The company said it would work closely with the employees' union and expects the job cuts to begin in March.
The plant will employ 470 workers after the job reduction. It's been operating in Fort Smith since 1965, according to the company. Gerber is a subsidiary of Nestle Nutrition of North America.
-- John Magsam
Arkansas Life gains new life after appeal
Arkansas Life, a monthly magazine, will continue as a hybrid print-and-digital publication after a successful appeal for new subscribers, Lynn Hamilton, president of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, said Friday.
Hamilton said 1,033 people bought new $20-a-year subscriptions to Arkansas Life in the past two weeks, saving the publication from closing. The magazine, which has been published by the Democrat-Gazette since 2008, will retain its full staff of four.
"We're delighted to have that kind of response," Hamilton said. "Obviously, there's a lot of support for the magazine."
Arkansas Life will be published online 12 months a year and will appear in print each quarter. The January edition is available now. The printed edition also will appear in February. The first quarterly print edition will be out in April, followed by print editions in July, October and January 2020.
The 1,033 new subscribers pushed total paid circulation to about 4,500, Hamilton said. Some Democrat-Gazette subscribers get the magazine for free, pushing its total monthly distribution to about 24,000 copies.
-- Stephen Steed
State index surges to 413.11, up 10.78
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, jumped 10.78 to 413.11 Friday.
Fourteen stocks rose and one fell.
Bank OZK, which released its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, climbed 16.2 percent on almost double its average volume. J.B. Hunt gained 6.2 percent in heavy volume.
All but three stocks gained ground for the week. Bank OZK jumped 21.6 percent and USA Truck advanced 12 percent for the week.
Total volume for the index Friday was 25.2 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 19 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 01/19/2019