BUSINESS DIGEST || More laid off at GM

More at GM laid off

LORDSTOWN

An additional 20 production workers at the General Motors Lordstown assembly plant were laid off Friday, United Auto Workers Local 1112 President Dave Green said.

About 1,200 employees were laid off because of the June 22 elimination of the plant’s second shift. Green said plant management kept some additional employees working to fill in during training and vacation.

There have been cutbacks at the plant due to weak sales of the Chevrolet Cruze that is built there.

Registration extended

HERMITAGE, PA.

Lawrence-Mercer ATHENA International announced the ATHENA Wise Girls Registration has been extended to July 16.

ATHENA Wise Girls focuses on the day-to-day issues facing girls in the region who are between age 12 and 18. The program serves Lawrence-Mercer ATHENA’s mission of developing female leaders.

The program is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 27 at Laurel Technical Institute, 200 Sterling Ave., Sharon. The event is a learning and networking opportunity that will help girls “navigate difficult moments, make healthy choices now and in the future and connect to resources in the community that can assist them at these times of contemplation or need,” according to a news release.

The seminar is free. Breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks are provided. Visit LawrenceMercerAthena.com to register.

Mazda recalls 270K vehicles over airbags

NEW YORK

Mazda is recalling nearly 270,000 vehicles with Takata airbags that have the potential to explode.

Chemicals used to inflate the air bags can deteriorate in some conditions, causing them to deploy with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister that can result in flying shrapnel.

The potentially deadly defect can be found in passenger-side airbags on certain 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 and 2004 MPV vehicles nationwide. It also involves 2005-2006 MPV models in certain states.

Over the last several years, about 50 million air-bag inflators have been recalled in the U.S., with 22 deaths and more than 180 injuries linked to the defect.

US adds 213K jobs

WASHINGTON

U.S. employers kept up a brisk hiring pace in June by adding 213,000 jobs, a sign of confidence in the economy despite the start of a potentially punishing trade war with China.

The job growth wasn’t enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising from 3.8 percent to 4 percent, the government said Friday. But the rate rose for an encouraging reason: More people felt it was a good time to begin looking for a job, though not all of them immediately found one.

The growing optimism that people can find work suggested that the 9-year old U.S. economic expansion – the second-longest on record – has the momentum to keep chugging along. Yet its path ahead is uncertain. Just hours before the monthly jobs report was released, the Trump administration imposed taxes on $34 billion in Chinese imports, and Beijing hit back with tariffs on the same amount of U.S. goods.

Staff/wire reports