Business in brief: Iran says Boeing offers new aircraft during Tehran trip
TEHRAN, Iran – Boeing Co. offered Iranian airlines three models of new aircraft to replace the country’s aging fleet during the first visit by the Chicago-based manufacturer in decades, the Islamic Republic’s state-run news agency reported Monday.
Boeing declined to discuss specifics from the negotiation with officials in Tehran, but the airplane builder undoubtedly wants a piece of the action in post-sanctions Iran, which already saw Airbus sign a $25 billion deal.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Maqsoud Asadi Samani, the secretary of the Society of Iranian Airlines, as saying Boeing officials offered 737, 787 and 777 model aircraft. Samani said Iran was reviewing the offers.
Iranian airlines have about 60 Boeing airplanes in service, but most were purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Out of Iran’s 250 commercial planes, about 150 are flying while the rest are grounded due to lack of spare parts. The country’s air-safety record remains spotty, as parts and servicing remained nearly impossible to get while the world sanctioned Iran over its contested nuclear program.
Microsoft reports no pay gap between men and women
SEATTLE – Microsoft said there is essentially no gap between the wages it pays men and women employed in the same roles. Women who work for the Seattle-area software company in the U.S. make 99.8 cents for every dollar made by men with the same job title.
Microsoft is the latest technology giant to release data on employee compensation amid pressure from shareholders.
“These numbers reflect our commitment to equal pay for equal work, and I’m encouraged by these results,” Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s head of human resources, said in a blog post announcing the figures on Monday.
Tesla recalls new SUVs
over seat safety issue
LOS ANGELES – Only months after delivering the first units of its Model X, Tesla Motors has issued a voluntary safety recall for its heralded “falcon wing” SUV.
The third-row seats in the seven-seat vehicle, Tesla said, were built with latches that failed under safety testing. On about 2,700 Model Xs, the seats could fold forward unexpectedly during a crash or sudden stop.
Company representatives on Monday were quick to stress that they have had no reports of injuries, nor any complaints from owners.
Tesla said the recall pertains only to vehicles built before March 26. The seat latch failure was discovered during testing in Europe, prior to vehicles being delivered there. That was after the part passed 15 strength tests in the U.S.
Brown-Forman introducing
new brand of bourbon
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The spirits company behind Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is taking a deeper plunge into Kentucky bourbon.
Brown-Forman Corp. said Monday that Coopers’ Craft will be its first new bourbon brand in 20 years. The rollout for the premium whiskey will come this summer in eight southeastern states, with plans to expand distribution once supplies increase, company executives said.
Brown-Forman master distiller Chris Morris, whose production team spent more than a decade creating Coopers’ Craft, said “the time for a new style of bourbon has arrived.”
Louisville-based Brown-Forman’s flagship brand is Jack Daniel’s and its extensive spirits lineup includes Woodford Reserve and Old Forester bourbons.