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Northwest Digest
Panasonic repair site to cut 63 jobs, outsource

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The layoffs are part of a company restructuring to make it more competitive, said spokesman Bill Pritchard.

Warehousing operations will continue at the Kent location under contract with Troy, Mich.-based Kelly Management Services. The call-operator jobs will be moved to another site by Chino, Calif.-based contractor Alorica.

Comcast

Company raising state cable TV prices

Comcast said yesterday that it will raise cable-television prices in January in its Washington market.

The standard analog, or basic, package price will rise by $2.81, or 7.1 percent, to $42.29 a month from $39.48. Comcast also said that a small percentage of customers who subscribe to the least expensive package, called Limited Basic, will see a 19 cent, or 1.4 percent, average monthly increase, to $13.33 a month from $13.14.

The company said its prices reflect the increased value of its cable service, including the availability of more programming and improvements in customer service. Comcast plans to notify customers about the price increases in its cable bills.

Seattle Genetics

SEC papers filed for stock offering

Seattle Genetics said yesterday it has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $75 million by offering common stock.
 
The company said it doesn't have any immediate plans to sell more shares, but the registration papers would allow the company to raise money from time to time based on its capital needs and stock-market conditions.

Pope Resources

Crown Pacific sets plan for timberland

Olympic Resource Management, a subsidiary of Poulsbo-based Pope Resources, has agreed to manage 524,000 acres of timberland in Washington and Oregon for Crown Pacific Partners, a bankrupt company that plans to transfer ownership of the land to its creditors at the end of the year.

The timberland is all that remains of Portland-based Crown Pacific, which filed for bankruptcy in June 2003 and has sold its sawmills and distribution business, said spokesman John Mangan.

A confirmation hearing for the company's plan is scheduled Dec. 20 in bankruptcy court in Arizona.

Mercer International

Mercer to purchase pulp mill in Canada

Mercer International, which produces pulp and papers used in magazines and advertising materials, agreed to buy a mill in British Columbia that makes pulp used in paper bags and packaging for $210 million.

Mercer — a business trust with offices in Seattle that owns pulp mills in Germany — will pay $170 million in cash and $40 million in stock to KPMG.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff and Bloomberg News