Business news in brief

FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2018 file photo, the logo for Twitter is displayed above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Twitter suspended at least 58 million user accounts in the final three months of 2017, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2018 file photo, the logo for Twitter is displayed above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Twitter suspended at least 58 million user accounts in the final three months of 2017, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Red River Army Depot plans 305 layoffs

TEXARKANA, Texas -- The Red River Army Depot plans to lay off more than 300 government or contractor employees beginning Aug. 31.

The depot responsible for military vehicle maintenance plans to release 98 term government employees and 207 contractor employees. Affected workers support major production, inspection and support areas. No permanent government employees are being released.

The layoffs come as part of the second phase of a Department of Defense restructuring plan announced in March.

The depot says the job reductions are a result of workload decreases of about 1.3 million direct labor hours compared with the previous year. The depot's workload is related to Department of Defense requirements to support soldiers.

The depot has established a support center with assistance from Texas and Arkansas state governments for employees moving to other jobs.

-- The Associated Press

Cloud deal teams Walmart, Microsoft

Walmart and Microsoft have signed a broad five-year cloud-computing deal as both companies try to find a way around Amazon in the race to the top.

Walmart will use Azure, Microsoft's cloud-computing system, and Microsoft 365, the Redmond company's suite of office software, on the cloud to run the retailer's internal operations, power its website and analyze shopping data.

Azure is the second-largest cloud-computing platform in the world, behind Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is the market leader by a wide margin. Walmart has similarly been looking for ways to compete with the major e-commerce company as it continues to grow.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told The Wall Street Journal that the companies' competition with Amazon "is absolutely core to this."

As part of its Microsoft deal, Walmart will put "a significant portion" of its flagship website and the Sam's Club website on Azure, the companies said.

-- The Seattle Times

2-month CEO quits at Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Inc. said Chief Executive Officer Brian Crutcher resigned after less than two months in the job, citing violations of the chip maker's code of conduct. His predecessor, Rich Templeton, will resume the role on a permanent basis.

"The violations are related to personal behavior that is not consistent with our ethics and core values, but not related to company strategy, operations or financial reporting," the company said in a statement, without elaborating.

Crutcher is the third chip-company leader in less than two months to leave his job over a breach of rules on personal conduct after the departures of Intel Corp.'s and Rambus Inc.'s CEOs.

-- Bloomberg News

4 high-levy states sue U.S. over tax re-do

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland sued the federal government over the Republican-led tax overhaul Tuesday, alleging the new law championed by President Donald Trump unfairly singles out high-tax blue states.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, was dismissed as a long-shot political stunt by supporters of the new tax code, but Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it is a practical act of self-defense against an adversarial federal government. The challenge alleges that lawmakers crafted the new tax code to target left-leaning states and interferes with their constitutionally granted taxing authority.

The tax law passed by Congressional Republicans and signed into law last year by Trump caps a deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000. The deduction was especially popular in high-tax, Democratic states, where many homeowners will see big increases in their federal tax bill. New York estimates that taxpayers will pay $14 billion more in 2018.

More than 500,000 Maryland residents will see their taxes increase under the new law, according to that state's attorney general, Democrat Brian Frosh.

-- The Associated Press

NAACP lifts bias warning against airline

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People lifted a travel advisory against American Airlines Group Inc., saying the carrier had responded with measures to address last year's allegations of "possible racial bias."

The world's largest carrier has put a substantive plan in place that will be part of its culture and can be measured over time, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said Tuesday at the group's annual convention in San Antonio. In imposing the warning in October, the NAACP cited a series of "disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers."

The airline's rate of race-based complaints per 100,0000 boardings fell about 25 percent in the period after the NAACP advisory compared with the previous 21 months, according to data compiled by the U.S. Transportation Department.

While initially defensive about the advisory, American decided to "take this as an opportunity to go be better," Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker told the convention.

-- Bloomberg News

Twitter halts 58 million accounts in 4Q

NEW YORK -- Twitter suspended at least 58 million user accounts in the final three months of 2017, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. The figure highlights the company's newly aggressive stance against malicious or suspicious accounts in the wake of Russian disinformation efforts during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Last week, Twitter confirmed a Washington Post report that it had suspended 70 million accounts in May and June. The huge number of suspensions have raised questions as to whether the crackdown could affect Twitter's user growth and whether the company should have warned investors earlier. The company has been struggling with user growth compared to rivals like Instagram and Facebook.

Suspensions surged over the fourth quarter. Twitter suspended roughly 15 million accounts in October. That number jumped by two-thirds to more than 25 million in December.

-- The Associated Press

Business on 07/18/2018

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