Consumer Minute: Jobs, Airlines, Whopper Bars

New Jobs

There’s one major company that’s actually hiring!

AT&T plans to add 3,000 new jobs this year.

The bulk of the new positions will be in the broadband and wireless divisions.  AT&T says the extra jobs will pump an additional $17 billion into the communications company.

Airlines Cut Flights

A drop in passengers last month will mean fewer flights on the schedule this month.

Several of the top airlines have announced they’re cutting service to compensate for the falling demand.

American plans to trim capacity by 9 percent for 2009.

United will cut service by 12 percent in the first quarter, with a 7.5 percent cut for the whole year.

And, for the first time ever, Southwest is going to be cutting capacity, they say, by 4 percent.

Casinos Are Hurting

Atlantic City casinos are suffering from the tough economy.

The 11 casinos there, collectively, posted their biggest monthly decline, ever, in February. Business was down almost 20 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

Three of the casinos have already filed for bankruptcy.

Whopper Bars
And Burger King is looking to start a new kind of restaurant.

They’ve opened the first “Whopper Bar” in Orlando. Customers can order their burgers customized with up to 22 different kinds of toppings and condiments, everything from ketchup and mustard to steak sauce, smoked bacon and guacamole.

BK plans to open a half dozen of the “Whopper Bars” by the end of the year, and eventually they hope to have several hundred nationwide