Business briefs: Tech Data layoffs, Wave funding and more

Tech Data cuts jobs

Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD), a Clearwater-based IT distributor, has begun cutting jobs under a global business optimization program initially outlined by CEO Rich Hume in August.

Tech Data recorded $8.7 million in severance costs for the three months ended Oct. 31, the company said in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It did not say how many jobs were impacted by the move.

The company is not giving additional details beyond what is in the filing, a spokesman said.

The business optimization program is designed to increase investments in the company’s strategic priorities, drive productivity and enhance profitability, Tech Data said. The company expects to incur total cash charges of about $70 million to $80 million, mostly by the end of fiscal 2020 and primarily composed of $40 million to $45 million in Europe and $30 million to $35 million in the United States.

Wave funding

Tampa Bay Wave has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Rep. Kathy Castor at Tampa Bay Wave

The funding will help launch a regional investor collaborative, according to a press release from U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-Tampa), who helped secure the grant.

“With this important Seed Fund Support award, we can help the Central Florida region close the critical funding gap that has been hampering our ecosystem for years,” Linda Olson, Wave’s president and CEO, said in the release. “With a larger pool of investors and early stage capital, we will not only help the region better attract more capital and talent, but also give local entrepreneurs across the I-4 corridor more opportunities to grow and create breakout successes here.”

Wave is expected to announce more details about the new program at the organization’s 10-year anniversary gala Thursday night.

Developer talks politics

Red Apple Group owner John Catsimatidis (Credit: Wikipedia)

John Catsimatidis, the New York developer whose Red Apple Group owns the two-acre 400 Central Avenue block in downtown St. Petersburg, gave a thumbs up to President Donald Trump and a thumbs down to unsuccessful Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum during a recent talk at the NYC Real Estate Forum.

“He praised the electorate’s decision” not to vote for Gillum, according to Real Estate Weekly, and said Trump “is on our side; he’s on America’s side.”

Catsimatidis also called a New York law that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the end of the year “horrific.”

Red Apple Group is refining design concepts for a mixed-use development in downtown St. Pete, according to the St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp.

Allegiant lawsuit

A lawsuit filed in district court in Las Vegas accuses Allegiant Travel Co. of operating an unsafe airline.

Allegiant Airbus A320 takes off. (PRNewsfoto/Allegiant)

Allegiant’s (NASDAQ: ALGT ) subsidiary, Allegiant Air, is the largest carrier at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

The lawsuit, filed Nov. 27 by an Allegiant stockholder, said the safety concerns raised in reporting by 60 Minutes and the Tampa Bay Times have “resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to Allegiant’s reputation, goodwill, and standing in the business community,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Allegiant declined comment on the lawsuit, the Review-Journal said.