Business/Economy

On an earnings call with analysts, CEO Ben Minicucci said the airline hired nearly 8,000 people in 2022 as it emerged from the pandemic downturn and plans to hire 3,500 more this year.

Ongoing labor issues mean federal contracts are going to out-of-state firms, and employment in health care and other industries is projected to come up short by “thousands of jobs.”

Alaska political leaders have long sought an exemption to the roadless rule for the Tongass, seeing the restrictions as burdensome and limiting economic opportunities.

Workplace advice: Return-to-work policies have galvanized a tug of war between employer and employee desires.

An official with the Interior Gas Utility said that the uncertain outlook for gas from Cook Inlet prompted it to find a new solution.

Also opening are a Hmong bilingual child care facility and a veterinary business offering mobile euthanasia care for pets. The Regal Tikahtnu cineplex is listed for closure in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Court documents from bankruptcy proceedings indicate Regal parent company Cineworld has designated 39 locations for closure.

Services for members will not change when the cooperative, which is headquartered in Anchorage, changes its name on April 3, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union said. It follows the merger last year of Alaska USA and Spokane-based Global Credit Union.

New oil projects being developed or evaluated could reverse the aging basin’s long-term decline, officials tell lawmakers.

Albertsons wants to pay the dividend to shareholders ahead of its proposed $25 billion merger with Kroger, which owns QFC and Fred Meyer.

You can reform a micro-manager. Start by understanding what makes them micro-manage.

In the last four decades, the share of Alaskans 71 and older has increased from just over 1% to close to 8%.

New projects and enhanced recovery are helping increase flow down the trans-Alaska pipeline, but the long-term downward trend in Alaska oil production remains.

The RS-1 rocket “impacted the pad and was destroyed,” ABL Space Systems said on Twitter.

Some of the protesters had flown in from the North Slope village of Nuiqsut, located near the proposed Willow project. Nuiqsut’s mayor said she also met with U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, who supports the project.

Brett Huber will fill the seat vacated by Jeremy Price in the fall. The job pays $150,000 annually.

Workplace advice: According to a September CareerBuilder survey, 18% of employers reported firing employees for making jokes and inappropriate statements on social media.

An avian flu outbreak in Washington prompted a major cull of chickens and ricocheting egg problems across the region.

Oil Search, a subsidiary of Australia-based Santos, needs the road to access its giant Pikka field. ConocoPhillips wants Oil Search to pay $95 million to use the road. Oil Search has offered a smaller amount.

Research estimates that 50% to 70% of executives fail within 18 months, regardless of whether they were an external hire or promoted from within.

Real estate observers said the market is normalizing from the frenzied pace of buying that occurred earlier in the pandemic.

Hilcorp Alaska, the dominant oil and gas operator in the Cook Inlet basin, submitted the sole bid in the lease sale held by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority has earmarked $6.2 million for lawsuits and other work in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.