Business briefs

NATION

Google to lay off 200 additional workers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google will lay off 200 workers as the recession squeezes even the Internet’s most profitable company.

The job cuts announced Thursday mark the second round of cuts at Google this year. The Mountain View-based company earlier decided to jettison 100 employee recruiters because it doesn’t expect to hire as many people this year.

In a blog posting, Google said it had hired too many employees doing the same jobs when it rapidly expanded its payroll over the past four years. The about-face affects less than 1 percent of Google’s 20,200 employees.

Sales of electronics jump 10 percent at Best Buy

CHICAGO — Consumers snapped up surprising numbers of flat-screen televisions, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones during the quarter ending Feb. 28, helping Best Buy Co. Inc. boost sales by 10 percent, the company reported Thursday.

The quarter’s sales were strongest in February, and the world’s largest consumer electronics retailer said same-store sales might have been even better if a plan to scale back inventory hadn’t left some stores short of TVs and digital cameras shoppers were seeking.

Associated Press