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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Tuesday, February 22, 2000

Hawaii debt burden tops other states

Hawaii residents are shouldering the highest state debt burden in the country, according to Moody's Investors Service.

In a report issued today, Moody's said Hawaii's per capita state debt was $3,054. Connecticut ranked second, at $3,052, followed by Massachusetts, at $2,612. Coloradans carried the least amount of tax-supported debt, $8 per capita, Moody's reported. Nebraska was 49th, at $212 and Idaho at 48th, with $84.

Moody's said state debt burdens increased by 3.7 percent last year, slightly slower than in recent years, despite the robust national economy.

Unilever to cut 25,000 employees

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever said today it will lay off 25,000 employees, or 10 percent of its global work force, as part of a sweeping restructuring.

The company made the announcement as it released year-end 1999 earnings that showed a 5 percent drop in net profit.

The company said the layoffs would be made over the next five years, mainly in Europe and the Americas, as it closes 100 of its 250 production sites in a move to regroup its manufacturing operations into regional networks. Unilever is known for a wide array of household name products including Lipton teas, Calvin Klein fragrances, Dove soap, Close-Up toothpaste and Breyer's ice cream.

It said its 1999 net profit slipped to $2.97 billion, down from $3.28 billion in 1998.

In other news . . .

SAN ANTONIO -- SBC Communications Inc., the largest U.S. local-telephone company, plans to buy Sterling Commerce Inc., a maker of software that allows businesses to buy and sell goods on line, for $3.9 billion. SBC is offering $44.25 for each Sterling share, a 40 percent premium to the e-commerce company's closing price Friday of $31.56.