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Show he Salt Lake Tribune Page D-7 BUSINESS MACONSUMER CORNER/D.8 MEGTAH BRIEFS/D.s IE BUSINESS GLANCE/D.9 W§ DILBERT/D-11 MCLASSIFIEDS/D-13 YEAR-END REVIEWS They don't have to be stomach-knotting experiences/D-8 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1998 Boeing Will Cut 20,000 Jobs in Next 2 Years Asian economic woesslow globalair traffic, lessening need for more of the company’s aircraft THE 0c TEDPRI SEATTLE — Boeing Co. will cut an additional 20,000 workers over the next two years as the company scales back production of several commercial jet lines due largely to slackening demand because of the Asian economic crisis. en Utah's Top Performers oy The Bloomberg Utah Index measures the stockperformance ofthe state's major publicly The new cuts will bring the total reductions in Boeing’s work force to man resources department at Boeing's 1999 net earnings at about §2 billion, fect the plant. The factory, which em- profits at $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion. It said 1998 profits were expected to be slightly above $1 billion, as earlier fore- factory in Salt Lake City, did not know whetherthe planned job cuts would afploys abut 560 people,recently got a new work package from Boeing to make spareparts. “Clearly, the economic slowdown in Asia is driving air traffic down, which impacts our customers’plans and opera- 48,000 jobs, or a 20 percent drop from tions,” Alan Mulally, Boeing Commer- the high level of 238,000 reached in June cial Airplane Group president, said Tuesday. “Our actions todaywill match nounced that it would trim 28,000 jobs. our customers.” of this year. In July, the company anTom Driffill, an associate in the hu- production to market demandto support Boeing, which earlier had projected fromfive to four airplanes per month now said it was forecasting next year’s and the 767 programwill drop fromfour: to 3.5 airplanes per month in early 2000 The 777 program, currently scheduled to be reducedfrom seven tofive planes per month in fourth quarter of 1999. is now projected to remain at the lower rate in 2000. cast Boeing is rolling out 51 planes a month, said spokesman Larry McCracken. He saidthat will drop to 47 at theend of next year and 38.5 planes a month by the end of 2000. Boeingwill increase production onits new-generation 737sas scheduled to 24 planes per month, and it will remain at The companysaidit would reduce production of 747 jetliners from3.5 to two that rate until late 2000, when it will decrease to 21 a month Air-traffic growth in many Asian markets has plummeted as the c grapple with their worst currencycris in decades airplanes per month late next year, and to just one per month in early 2000 if marketconditionsfail to improve Production of 757 jetliners will drop Circle Four Farms Will Ask to Boost held companies. | Technology stocks rallied to lead a blue-chip rebound Tuesday, with the profit-taking behind Monday's selloff |la just as the Dowslipped below Hog Population BY LESLEY MITCHELL THE Wyndham Hotel Named Salt Lake’s Most Posh provalfrom the Iron CountyPlanni & Zoning Commission on Thursday te? expand its huge hog farm operation near Milford Rich Wilson, chairman of the Iron The Wyndham Hotel has been named the poshest business hotel in Salt Lake City by Fortune magazine. ‘Thelisting of high-end hotel prop- County Planning and Zoning Commission, said thereis little chance the com. mission will not approve the company's erties for business travelers in vari- ous cities appears in the magazine's plansto boost production of hogs over Nov.23 issue. the next three to five years to 900,000 annually, up from 600,000. Salt Lake City’s Wyndham recently completed a $5.5 million renovation The expansion is part of the compa of rooms, lobby and conference space ny’s long-term plansoutlined in general Covol Loses $3.9 Million counties and the public when it began operations here, Wilson said terms to representatives of the two Cirele Four, which employs 375 people in Utah, has 32,000sows in its Covol Technologies Inc. of Lehi reported revenues for the year ended Sept. 30 of $12.7 million, which resulted in a loss of $3.9 million, or 44 cents per share. A yearearlier, Covol posted annual Skyline complex in Beaver County, ap- proximately 12 miles south of Milford. It houses another 10,000 sowsin the partially completed Blue Mountain complex, which is approximately 35 revenues of $251,000 and loss of miles northwest of Cedar City and 35 $10.9 million, or $1.38 per share. Covol is a recycling company. Its fiscal year that 24 synthetic fuelfacil: ities using the company's technology werebuilt. ‘The companyalso reported 1998 fourth-quarter revenues of $557,000, which resulted in a loss of $5.4 mil- lion, or 55 cents per share. A year earlier, Covol reported 1997 fourth-quarter revenues of $75,000 and a loss of $5.5 million, or 67 cents pershare. Tips on Catalog Shopping During the holiday season, many Utahgift-givers will turn to catalogs as a convenient way to shop from home. ‘Thestate's Better Business Bureau Says consumers need to be careful. Andit is offering tips to Utahns on howto avoid problems when shopping and buying by mail. Consumers, according to the BBB, should beware of exaggerated claims for products or unrealistically low prices for merchandise. It says shoppers should compareprices of similar merchandise available at a local retailer. Shoppers should notrely solely on a picture in a catalog whenselecting merchandise to buy. They should carefully read the product's descriptionas well Buyers should completelyfill out the order form as directed, or their order could be delayed. Andif the merchandiseis intended as a holiday gift, the BBB says to be sure to allow extra time for delivery. Some companies will add extra charges for last- minute orders to ensure on-time arrival, it says. ‘The BBBalso advises that buyers check the catalog company’s return policy. If it is not in writing in the catalog, consumers should ask about it before ordering. “When you are familiar with the company you are dealing with, paying with a credit card may make solving any problems that arise later easier to handle,” the BBB says. “Never send cash in the mail.” It advises consumers to also keep a record of their orders — name, ad- dress of company, the date the order was placed, canceled checks or the number of the money order or bank check used to pay for the merchandi ise. Orders should be checked at once after being received to make sure the item is what was ordered, thatit is in- tact and satisfactory. The company should be notified immediately if it is not, the BBBsays Sows, which havelitters of up to a dozen, produce three to fourlitters a year. Firm Makes Short Work of Great Books Mauldwin said the expansion of the Blue Mountain complex involves adding another 35,000 sows and an additional 165 jobs. He said workers earn an average of $22,000 a year, not in- InteliQuest may broadcast its condensed audioversionsofclassic literature on AM radiostation BY GUY BOULTON THE LAKE TRIBUNE Imagine breezing through War and Peace or Moby Dick in thetimeit takes a year in sales. But InteliQuest also has expandedits product line, adding audio collectionstitled “The World’s 50 Greatest Composers’ and “The World's 100 Greatest People.” It also licenses items from Knowiedge Products, such as “The Se- to drive from Salt Lake City to Ogden. What about getting through Dante's The Divine Comedy or Karl Marx’s Das crets of the World’s Greatest Investors,” form — thanks to the folks at InteliQuest becomelate-night programming on 1010 Kapital on the way back? That's possible — albeitin a clipped Media Corp.. The company, based in Salt Lake City, has sold more than 60,000 sets of its “The World's 100 Greatest Books” — a collection of 50 audiotapes that condense even the most abstruse classicinto a 45-minute synopsis. “These definitely are not Cliffs notes,” said Steven DeVore, InteliQuest's co- founder. “Youfeel like you are learning.” ‘The set is now the core of a small busi- nessthat generates morethan $1 million narrated by Louis Rukeyser Someof those educational tapes could KIQ, an AMradio station in Salt Lake City. InteliQuest bought thestation in August and changedits format toall news The station, which bills itself as “The News, Knowledge and Technology Leader,” is building a newstudioon the first floor of the Eagle Gate Tower, near the entrance to ZCMI Center mall DeVore’s partner, Richard Linford, knows the business well. InteliQuest hopesto raise $9 million through a pri- vate placement. And Linford, the former cluding companybenefits, which in clude health insurance. head of development at Bonneville In- “We're moving forward, and we'll ternational, envisions a station with its own newsstaff and programming show them our proposal exceeds or “People are starving for qualityinformation,” DeVoresaid. DeVore got the idea for “The World's 100 Greatest Books’ when he tried to make his way through a collection of meetsall their conditions,” he said Mauldwin, whorecentlyjoined Circle Four, was hired to work with residents of communities that surround the company’s operations, the media and elected officials. classics. He soonrealized the ambitious “We believe once they understand what we do, how wedo it and what goal might be too ambitious. ‘It would take me 25 yea .”’ DeVore said. The books, by themselves, also provid- we're all about, there will be more ae ceptance,” Mauldwin said ed no context or guidance. Faceit, most of us need some hand-holding to get through The Canterbury Tales or Para But critics contend the company’s expansion in southern Utah will ultimately lead to environmental problems such as ground-water contamination. Waste dise Lost. Besides, what DeVore really wanted were the main ideas. He started InteliQuest in 1993 in a Joint venture with Bonneville International. DeVore bought out Bonneville’s from the company’s facilities drains into massive open-air lagoons ‘This is devastating for Utah,” said A. True Ott of the Citizens for Respon sible and Sustainable Agriculture. interest in February 1997 Ott dismisses the economic benefits of the plant, such as job creation. Says Ott: “A coal miner has a better job than See INTELIQUEST,Page D-11 workingat a hog farm.” Micron Execs Take a Hit From Soft Chip Market Micron Shares Pay is gutted as profits decline, but 1999 outlook is promising as stock value continues torise BY LISA CARRICABURU ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Low memory-chipprices thathaveleft Micron Technology Inc.'s partially com- pleted Lehiplantidle also have bitten the company’s top executives Chief Executive Officer Steve Apple- ton's pay declined 80 percent to $2.7 million bonus in 1997, when Micron earned $332.2 million in profits. $703,885 to $339,455, according to the $566,764 to $280,090. couraging proxy statement. Vice President of Operations Jay Hawkins’ pay fell from Despite its poor 1998 performance $666,374 in 1998 from $3.3 million a year earlier, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission in advance of Mi- cron’s Jan. 14 annual meeting Micron believes its lot will improve in 1989, whenglobal DRAM salesare forecast to grow 25 percent to $16 billion. according to the San Jose, Calif.-based Semiconductor Industry Association. Micron compensates executives based on the company’s financial performance. according to the proxy statement. Dra- The trade group last month also predicted DRAM sales will grow28 percent in 2000 and 35 percent in 2001 random access memory (DRAM) chips The positive prediction, coupled with Micron’s acquisition earlier this year of Texas Instrument’s semiconductor busi matically lower revenue from dynamic made by the Boise-based company led Micron tolose $233.7 million in the 1998 fiscal year ended Sept. 3. Industrywide, DRAM revenue declined an estimated 34.8 percent in 1998 As a result of Micron’s loss, Appleton received a basesalary of $658,654 and a $4,246 bonus in 1998. That compares with a base salary of $567,404, plusa fromreturning to profitability if you dis- count nonrecurring expenses with the Texas Instruments deal Richard Owens, a market analy: D.A. Davidson & Co. in Portland, Ore Chief Technology Officer D. Mark Durcan’s salary and bonusdeclined from ness and Intel Corp.’s decision to invest $500 million in Micron, speak well for the company’s future, particularlyif investors’ interest is any gauge. The value of Micron shares has nearly doubled since Sept. 1, when the stock was trading at around $23 “The companyis about a quarter away Micron TechnologyInc. shares haveriser significantly over the past two months. Stanford Lockhart, a spokesman for Micron in Lehi, agreed the outlook is en- However,the Lehi plant's inactivestatus remains unchanged, he said Micron so far has spent about $700 million on the 2.3 million-square-foot plant, which is expected to cost an esti- mated $2.5 billion bythe timeit is com- 25 plete. Lockhart said it maintains a Utah work force that fluctuates from 150 to 250 employees. He acknowledged rumorspersist that Micron maysell thefacilityit put on hold in early 1996, and Owenssaid sale is possible if Micron receives the right of. fer. But Lockhart said Appleton was ques tioned aboutthe possibility during a re- cent visit to Utah. He told workers he had listened to several offers, but had found none tempting £ Ss noted during the recently completed place in Blue Mountain, said spokes- man Brian Mauldwin. wo a Brent M. Cook, the company’s chairman and chief executiveofficer, miles south of Milford in Beaver and Iron counties. The expansion will take Al Hartmann/The Salt LakeTribune Richard Linford, left, and Steven DeVoreleaf through the plans for their new radio studio in Eagle Gate Tower. w S coal and turns them into a synthetic Price per share technology takes small particles of 2 LAKETRIBUNE Circle Four Farms plansto seek aj | Oct 2 16 30 Nov 27 4 3 | Source: Bloomberg News 3 The Salt Lake Tribemng While nothing is guaranteed, Micro intends to make microchips in U: eventually, Lockhart said ‘It’s not a matter ofif, It's a matter of when,” he said |
