Wal-Mart cutting size of store

Pullman – Wal-Mart wants to cut 68,000 square feet from its planned south Pullman superstore.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. previously received approval for a 223,000-square-foot structure on Bishop Boulevard. The company on Friday filed plans with the city seeking a 155,000- square-foot building.

Citizen group Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development had challenged the Wal-Mart Supercenter over concerns about its effects on traffic and businesses, eventually losing the case in a state appeals court.

In a news release, Wal-Mart touted the smaller store as more “sustainable,” claiming the change will reduce traffic at nearby intersections and paved parking space by roughly a third. Wal-Mart expects to begin construction in 2010.

Parker Howell

Advantage IQ’s CEO leaving post

Spokane – Advantage IQ Chief Executive Officer Stu Stiles has resigned.

Stiles, 49, said he will leave the company at the end of June to undertake overseas mission work.

Advantage IQ, a subsidiary of Avista Corp., helps clients manage utility use and leasing expenses. Stiles has headed the company since February 2005, when he moved over from XO Communications.

Stiles said Advantage IQ, which in 2008 generated revenues of $59 million, has continued to grow this year despite the slow economy.

Avista Chairman Scott Morris noted Advantage revenues have more than doubled since Stiles took over.

Jeff Hart, Advantage chief operating officer, will manage company operations during the search for a new CEO.

Bert Caldwell

Amazon.com settles dispute with retailer

Seattle – Amazon.com will pay Toys R Us $51 million to settle a 5-year-old lawsuit, the Seattle-based Internet retailer disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday.

Toysrus.com, a division of Wayne, N.J.-based Toys R Us, sued Amazon in 2004, accusing it of violating an exclusivity agreement by letting other merchants sell toys, games and baby products on the Amazon Web site.

Amazon countersued, citing a “chronic failure” by Toys R Us to keep items in stock.

On Friday, Amazon said it will make a one-time payment of $51 million to Toys R Us in the third quarter. The settlement includes the dismissal of all claims and counterclaims, Amazon said.

Seattle Times

Corporate jet maker cutting more jobs

Wichita, Kan. – Cessna Aircraft Co., the nation’s largest builder of corporate jets, said Friday it is laying off another 1,300 workers.

Cessna said the cutbacks will affect all its facilities.

“The fact is this is a cyclical industry and right now we are in the worst part of the cycle. Our industry continues to struggle,” said company spokesman Robert Stangarone.

The new job cuts come on top of 6,900 layoffs since November.

Cessna has laid off about half of its employees in the past half year. The company employed nearly 16,000 people last year – including about 12,000 in Wichita – before the economic downturn slashed global demand for corporate aircraft.

Associated Press