Business Briefcase

American to cut jobs

About 2,500 American Airlines pilots will lose their jobs during the next year as part of the union’s $660 million in annual concessions to save the company from bankruptcy, union officials said Tuesday.

As part of the agreement reached with the airline Monday, pilots’ salaries will be slashed 23 percent in the first year, beginning May 1, and 17 percent each subsequent year of the six-year pact, said John Darrah, president of the Allied Pilots Assn.

The pilots have 14 days to ratify the new contract.

About 21 percent of American’s 12,000 active pilots will be laid off.

Aviation: Canadian carrier to file for bankruptcy protection

Air Canada said Tuesday it was filing for bankruptcy protection from creditors, seeking time to reorganize its business and negotiate concessions from unions and help from the government.

Air Canada is by far the country’s largest airline and the only scheduled Canadian carrier with an extensive route network to the United States and other foreign destinations. It employs more than 30,000 people.

Shares in Air Canada sank to a 52-week low on Monday, and trading was halted Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange pending an announcement.

Electronics: Best Buy earnings down

Best Buy Co. Inc. reported lower fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday as the company continued closing stores in the struggling Musicland division, which it now hopes to sell.

The results beat Wall Street projections, but the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain also cut its earnings projections for the first quarter because of the political and economic uncertainty.

Best Buy earned $311 million, or 96 cents a share, in the quarter ended March 1, including $67 million in losses from discontinued operations. That was down from $350 million, or $1.08 per share, reported a year earlier.

Kansas International: Former U.S. ambassador to speak in Lawrence

Kansas International is having a breakfast seminar featuring former U.S. Ambassador David Lambertson at 7:30 a.m. Friday at Alvamar Country Club, 1809 Crossgate Drive.

Lambertson will discuss the North Korean nuclear issue and prospects for a solution. He recently returned from North Korea where he spent six weeks as the U.S. representative of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization.

Cost for the seminar is $15 and $10 for students. To place your reservation, call 865-4426.