Business news digest

REGION

Mountaineer Casino to lay off 175 workers

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort, one of the largest employers in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, announced Friday it is laying off 175 workers, or nearly 9 percent of its work force.

The casino in Chester, just across the river from East Liverpool, Ohio, is struggling with a worsening national economy, still-growing competition from slot parlors in neighboring Pennsylvania and “limited discretionary dollars,” said President and General Manager Jack Sours.

The cuts affect both salaried and hourly workers, full- and part-time, across all departments. They leave the casino with about 1,900 employees. In November, Mountaineer laid off 93 workers, or what was then 4 percent of the work force.

Mountaineer is owned by MTR Gaming Group Inc., which also owns Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, Pa., and owns or has interests in tracks in Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota.

NATION

GE Capital to begin laying off employees

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — General Electric Co. says its troubled finance business has informed employees of layoffs.

GE Spokesman Russell Wilkerson says GE Capital is informing workers of the job cuts. He would not say how many employees of GE Capital will lose their jobs. GE Capital employs 75,000 workers.

The Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate manufactures locomotives, water treatment plants and numerous other industrial products and owns NBC Universal.

Staff wire/reports