Slumping Hoover sales lift jobs from Maytag

Maytag Corp. announced Friday it was cutting 1,100 jobs — almost 20 percent of its salaried work force — and lowered its earnings expectations, citing lower sales in it Hoover brand and higher material costs.

The Newton, Iowa-based appliance maker said it would consolidate its Hoover, Maytag Appliances and headquarters divisions into a “one-company” approach to improve speed and competitiveness.

Maytag spokeswoman Lynne Dragomier said the job cuts mostly would be made at Hoover’s factory in North Canton, Ohio, but some cuts also would be made at the company’s headquarters, pictured above. The cuts will bring Maytag’s total work force to 19,500.

Retail

Kmart to sell stores to Home Depot chain

Kmart Holding Corp. on Friday said it would sell as many as 24 stores to Home Depot Inc. for up to $365 million as part of its strategy to improve profit after emerging from bankruptcy last year.

Shares of Kmart, which have more than quadrupled since the company emerged from bankruptcy in May 2003, surged as much as 14 percent on Friday to their highest post-bankruptcy level.

The Troy, Mich.-based company, which filed for bankruptcy in January 2002, closed 600 stores, including its store in Lawrence, while it was reorganizing under Chapter 11 protection. It now operates more than 1,500 stores.

The exact number of stores to be sold to Home Depot, as well as a final price tag, will be determined in the next 60 days.

Kmart operates a distribution center in Lawrence. The company didn’t announce any changes to its distribution network as part of the sale.

Telecommunications

Sprint closes call center

Sprint Corp. intends to close its call center in suburban Chicago on Aug. 3 and eliminate about 1,000 jobs, the telecommunications company confirmed Friday.

Employees were notified of the impending closure earlier. The company said the work would be spread among its seven remaining U.S. call centers.

The company said it would close the Chicago center because it was operating at a higher cost than its other locations. Sprint employs about 65,000 people. It has cut more than 22,000 jobs in the past two years.

Staples Center

KU alumnus buys arena

Denver financier and Kansas University alumnus Philip Anschutz on Wednesday paid an estimated $200 million to buy full ownership of Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

Fox Entertainment Group Inc., a film development and production company largely owned by Rupert Murdoch’s giant News Corp., said it sold its 40 percent stake in the 5-year-old arena. Before the transaction, Anschutz Entertainment Group owned 60 percent.

The Anschutz company now is poised to begin construction of a $1 billion project, called LA Live, on 28 acres surrounding the downtown sports complex.