Halliburton closing 430-worker plant

HOMER CITY — Halliburton is closing a plant with 430 workers, but says 80 percent of them will be offered transfers to a facility in Zanesville, Ohio or other Pennsylvania locations.

Halliburton spokeswoman Susie McMichael says the Homer City plant about 45 miles east of Pittsburgh is closing because the company’s customer base in the area have moved to southwestern Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

JetBlue adds checked bag fee

NEW YORK — The era of free checked suitcases on JetBlue has come to an end.

The airline proudly proclaimed itself a holdout on fees for years, allowing passengers to check one bag for free. Now it will charge up to $25 for checked luggage.

The move leaves Southwest Airlines as the only major U.S. carrier not to charge a bag fee.

Pier I Imports hires new CFO

FORT WORTH, Texas —Pier 1 Imports has landed a veteran finance executive as its new chief financial officer.

Jeffrey N. Boyer, 57, most recently executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer for Dallas-based retailer Tuesday Morning, has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer at Fort Worth-based Pier 1. He replaces Cary Turner, who was abruptly let go in February.

From combined wire services