Business Briefs: Unum to outsource some jobs but other jobs are open

Sept. 16--Unum to outsource some jobs but other jobs are open

Unum Corp. is outsourcing nearly 30 Chattanooga jobs doing transactional roles in the company's finance department to EXL, an operations and analytics company that specializes in that kind of work, often with lower-wage foreign workers.

Unum communications manager M.C. Guenther said the local workers whose jobs are being phased out will have three to six months to find other jobs with Unum.

"With attrition and the creation of new roles, we hire about 100 people a month throughout the company," Guenther said. "We're hopeful internal employees will be able to fill some of these positions."

Guenther said Unum's employment at its Chattanooga headquarters has remained relatively constant for the last decade, hovering between 2,600 and 2,800 employees.

"In the last two years, the number is actually trending upward," she said.

Unum is the world's largest disability insurer with nearly 10,000 employees worldwide.

AT&T funds scholarships for high-tech training

AT&T is giving $65,000 to the Tennessee Board of Regents to support non-traditional, underserved students preparing for high-skill jobs requiring technology-based skills in Tennessee community colleges.

The donation will fund scholarships to help community college students statewide begin a path toward completing their college degrees. The announcement was made at Chattanooga State Community College.

"This generous donation to Tennessee's community colleges will make a large impact in advancing public higher education in Tennessee," said Vice Chancellor Dr. Warren Nichols.

Each of the state's 13 community colleges will receive $5,000 to award scholarships to encourage students to participate in programs designed to help students succeed in the classroom and be better prepared to enter the workforce. The programs will target non-traditional and underserved students.

"We are delighted to support Tennessee students who are acquiring the skills they need to enter the workforce," said Joelle Phillips, president of AT&T Tennessee. "Accelerated certificate and degree programs are a great way to ensure our students are fully prepared to enter the workforce and that they can find good jobs right here in Tennessee when they graduate."

Dixie names Hobbs Masland president

The Dixie Group, Inc. on Thursday promoted E. David Hobbs to serve as president, Masland Contract, replacing V. Lee Martin who resigned effective Wednesday.

Dixie President Dan Frierson said Hobbs previously served as executive vice president for Masland Carpets.

"In that capacity , hehas overseen significant improvement in our carpet and tile manufacturing operations, and improved service levels to our contract customers," Frierson said.

Prior to joining The Dixie Group in August 2012, Hobbs served as president of Interface Americas in La Grange, Ga.

Transformer installed for Watts Bar restart

TVA is continuing work on replacing and installing a new main bank transformer at its Watts Bar Nuclear Plant after a fire last month forced the shutdown of TVA's newest nuclear unit.

TVA had hoped to have its newest reactor at Watts Bar -- and the first new nuclear unit to be installed in America in two decades -- in operation by now. But a transformer fire in the Watts Bar switchyard in August forced TVA to shut down Unit 2 until a new transformer could be installed. The other reactor at Watts Bar, was shut down from Sept. 1 to Sept. 3, according to TVA spokesman Scott Brooks.

"We had to de-energize the entire switchyard as a precaution to check some components," Brooks said. "Our current work is focused on the new replacement main bank transformer and associated components."

TVA will resume its power ascension testing of the new reactor once the new transformer is installed and workers ensure that any moisture in the oil-cooled unit has been removed. TVA cannot declare the Unit 2 reactor to be a commercial generating asset until it has operated at full power for at least 20 days so any recovering of the $5 billion spent on Watts Bar Unit 2 will now be pushed back until fiscal 2017.

Mortgage rates up to 3-month high

Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan reaching its highest level since June.

Rates remain at historically low levels, however.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 3.50 percent from 3.44 percent last week. It was the highest level since June, when it averaged over 3.60 percent. Still, the average 30-year rate is down from 3.91 percent a year ago, and is close to its all-time low of 3.31 percent in November 2012.

The 15-year fixed mortgage rate edged up to 2.77 percent from 2.76 percent.

Long-term mortgage rates tend to track the yield on 10-year Treasury notes, which rose sharply amid volatility in the U.S. stock market.

___

(c)2016 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Visit the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.) at www.timesfreepress.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.