Business in brief: Sirius records narrower loss
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., which has agreed to acquire its rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., reported a narrower loss for the fourth quarter Tuesday as revenues more than doubled.
Sirius had a net loss of $245.6 million, or 17 cents a share, in the last three months of 2006 versus a loss of $311.4 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenues more than doubled to $193.4 million from $80 million a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a loss of 19 cents per share on revenues of $173 million.
Albany, N.Y.
Managers admit immigrant hires
Five former managers from a major crate and pallet manufacturer pleaded guilty Tuesday to hiring illegal immigrants, part of a larger federal crackdown on employers who break the law to get cheap labor.
The pleas came 10 months after federal agents staged sweeping raids at 40 IFCO Systems sites in 26 states. More than 1,100 people were arrested on administrative immigration charges in the April raids.
The managers hired the undocumented foreign workers, mostly Mexicans, as a competitive advantage and withheld benefits and overtime from them, federal prosecutors said.
Memphis, Tenn.
FedEx revises pension plan
Like many companies, FedEx Corp. is capping the traditional pension plan offered for most of its employees.
Instead it will offer a cash balance plan, which lets workers take benefits with them if they leave the company.
Traditional pension plans offer a defined monthly benefit when employees retire, with employer contributions varying depending on pension fund investment returns.
Under FedEx’s program, disclosed Tuesday, most employees who participate in a pension plan will begin accruing future benefits under a cash-balance formula, which FedEx calls the Portable Pension Account, effective June 1, 2008.
Current retirees won’t be affected, FedEx said.
About 170,000 employees in the U.S. will be affected by the changes, according to FedEx spokesman Jess Bunn.