SMYRNA, TN—A maintenance technician has been killed in an accident at the body shop of Nissan’s assembly plant here. The technician, Michael Hooper, 43, had worked at the plant for 21 years.
WASHINGTON—U.S. worker productivity grew a modest 0.5 percent rate from January through March after having declined in the previous quarter. Weak productivity growth could boost hiring if consumers and businesses spend more.
CHATTANOOGA, TN—Volkswagen is aiming to reduce its worldwide energy consumption by 25 percent and triple the renewable energy it uses by 2018, part of a program called Think Blue.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing the BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC, over its use of criminal background checks to screen out job applicants or fire employees. The agency says the policy discriminates against African Americans.
DETROIT—From January through May, automakers and parts companies hired 8,000 workers, a relatively slow rate. But the pace is picking up. The Center for Automotive Research expects the industry to add 35,000 jobs over the full year.
MILWAUKEE—U.S. employers reported a boost in confidence as the percent of employers planning to add staff, 22 percent, has reached a four-year high, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
WASHINGTON—For 2013 as a whole, manufacturing production should increase 3.1 percent from 2012, according to the Manufacturing Alliance for Productivity and Innovation. Manufacturing is predicted to grow 3.6 percent in 2014, 0.8 percentage points faster than the overall economy.