Business Briefs: Bass Pro Shops take returns for charity

Work continues on the new Bass Pro Shops seen Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in East Ridge. Tenn.
Work continues on the new Bass Pro Shops seen Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in East Ridge. Tenn.

La-Z-Boy expands in East Tennessee

Furniture maker England Inc., a division of La-Z-Boy, is expanding its East Tennessee operations by creating more than 200 jobs and investing $31 million in new manufacturing facilities.

England will add 87,000 square feet to its manufacturing facility in New Tazewell, north of Knoxville in Claiborne County, and construct a new 23,000-square-foot corporate office.

The manufacturing facility is set to be operational by January 2019 and the corporate office space ready by the spring of 2019, according to Gov. Bill Haslam and state Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe.

Kurt L. Darrow, CEO of La-Z-Boy, said in a statement that the company has a long history in Tennessee, with England operating in New Tazewell for more than 50 years.

In Dayton, La-Z-Boy employs about 1,400 people who make more than 800,000 pieces of furniture every year.

Bass Pro Shops take returns for charity

Bass Pro Shops is marking the return of fishing season and inviting customers to trade in used gear to be donated to local charities in exchange for savings.

The 2018 Spring Fishing Classic is taking place through March 4 at Bass Pro Shops in Chattanooga.

Customers who donate used rods and reels, in working order, can receive trade-in savings of up to $200. The used fishing equipment will be donated to local nonprofit organizations. Bass Pro Shops has donated nearly 290,000 products to youth-focused nonprofit organizations as part of the company's mission to inspire everyone to enjoy, love and conserve the great outdoors.

The Classic also includes free fishing seminars for all skill levels, activities for women and children and free giveaways.

Wynn Resorts won't pay Wynn severance

Steve Wynn, who recently stepped down amid sexual harassment allegations as the head of the casino empire that bears his name, will not receive a severance package, according to the company.

In a securities filing on Friday, Wynn Resorts said its billionaire founder was not entitled to the separation terms laid out in his employment contract. The filing did not specify how much Wynn would have received had he left under different circumstances.

His employment contract included a $330 million severance stipulation, according to a shareholder lawsuit filed this month. In 2016, he made more than $28 million in total compensation from Wynn Resorts.

According to the filing, Wynn signed an agreement that included a clause barring him from competing against Wynn Resorts for two years and requiring him to provide "reasonable cooperation and assistance" to the company in any investigation related to his tenure.

Wynn resigned as chairman and chief executive Feb. 6 after The Wall Street Journal published a report citing decades of misconduct, including allegations that he had demanded naked massages from female employees and pressured some for sex.

Activists delay Hawaii hotel plan

Developers want to rebuild a Kauai hotel with a Hollywood connection, but Native Hawaiian activists have mounted a protest.

The Coco Palms was the site where Elvis Presley's character got married in the film "Blue Hawaii." The hurricane-ravaged hotel closed in 1992. Two men claim they own the property because they are descendants of Kauai's last Hawaiian ruler.

They and others have camped out at the resort they say is a sacred area. The developers are seeking help from state sheriffs.

Judge approves plan for Takata bankruptcy

A Delaware judge has approved the bankruptcy reorganization plan submitted by Japanese auto-parts supplier Takata.

Following a hearing Friday, the judge said there was substantial and sufficient support from creditors to merit plan approval.

The ruling comes after Takata reached a settlement last week with creditor groups representing current and future victims of the company's lethally defective air bags, whose claims will be handled by a trust.

Takata was forced into bankruptcy last year amid lawsuits, multimillion-dollar fines and crushing recall costs involving air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, spewing shrapnel into drivers and passengers. The faulty inflators prompted the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.

Under the restructuring plan, Takata will sell most of its non-air bag assets to a Chinese-owned rival for $1.6 billion.

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