SPLS Staples, Inc.

STAPLES

Retailer Names New North American Chief

Office-supply seller Staples Inc. on Monday named a new head of its North American retail operations, the latest executive shift at the company as it tries to evolve to meet consumer needs.

Staples named Steve Matyas, a 25-year veteran of its Canadian business, as president of North American retail operations. Mr. Matyas previously had served as president of Staples Canada since July 2000. He was the first employee at Business Depot Ltd. in Canada in March 1991. Staples acquired Business Depot in August of 1994.

Interim Chief Executive Shira Goodman said: "Realigning our retail leadership will strengthen our position as we continue to right-size our store network and evolve to meet the changing needs of business customers."

--Brittney Laryea

THYSSENKRUPP

Company Confirms Talks With Tata Steel

German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG confirmed Monday that it is in talks with Tata Steel Ltd. of India and other steel groups over a potential tie-up, giving the strongest indication yet that the German company would help drive a new wave of expected consolidation in the beleaguered European steel sector.

Thyssenkrupp's announcement comes as European steelmakers are kicking off a flurry of merger-and-acquisition activity to cope with a protracted steel-capacity glut and a wave of inexpensive steel imports from countries such as China.

"We have repeatedly emphasized that in this situation we believe a consolidation of the European steel industry is necessary," a spokeswoman for Thyssenkrupp said Monday. She cautioned that it was still unclear "when and with whom" such a merger could transpire.

In April, The Wall Street Journal reported that the two companies had been holding high-level talks for more than a year about combining their European steel operations.

--Christopher Alessi and Alex MacDonald

SEAGATE

About 6,500 More Jobs Will be Cut

Seagate Technology PLC said it is cutting about 6,500 jobs globally, or about 14% of its workforce, less than two weeks after it announced a reduction of 1,600 positions.

The company also increased revenue guidance for the fourth quarter ended July 1 to about $2.65 billion from about $2.3 billion, citing strong demand for its hard-disk drives. Seagate shares jumped 12.7% in after-hours trading to $27.15.

The latest restructuring moves are part of Seagate's "continued consolidation of its global footprint across Asia, EMEA and the Americas, " the company said.

The Cupertino, Calif., company is a top producer of drives that store data in personal computers, a market that has declined as PC sales dwindle.

--Josh Beckerman

DAIMLER

Car Maker's Results Exceed Estimates

Daimler AG reported higher earnings before interest and taxes in the three months to the end of June, and confirmed its outlook that earnings would "slightly increase" in the full year.

The Stuttgart-based company that owns Mercedes-Benz cars said EBIT after adjustments for special items rose to EUR3.97 billion from EUR3.76 billion a year ago.

--William Boston

AVNET

CEO Steps Down; Outlook is Lowered

Avnet Inc. said Chief Executive Rick Hamada has stepped down as the electronics distributor further reduced its earnings outlook for the recently completed quarter.

The Phoenix company named board member William J. Amelio interim chief executive.

Mr. Amelio, 58 years old, was chief executive at oil-field-services company CHC Group Ltd. from 2010 to 2015 and chief executive of Lenovo from 2005 to 2009.

Christine Dotts, vice president of corporate communications, said the company's board "believed that change in leadership was needed to accelerate progress on Avnet's growth, drive a greater sense of urgency and an enhanced focus on execution," adding that Mr. Hamada "agreed to step down" as a result.

Mr. Hamada, also 58, had been CEO since 2011 and is leaving the company's board of directors.

--Joshua Jamerson

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 12, 2016 02:50 ET (06:50 GMT)

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