Bloomberg Boeing Co. is shrinking its Seattle-area workforce by at least 1,800 jobs this year as the company streamlines operations in a brutally competitive commercial-aircraft market. The planemaker approved voluntary layoffs for 1,500 mechanics, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be named because it hasn’t been made public. Another 305 engineers and technical …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, announced the opening of its second Carrefour hypermarket in Nairobi, Kenya. The retailer’s expansion within the Kenyan market marks a significant milestone in the company’s expansion plans into the African continent. The most recent hypermarket is …

  Bloomberg Retailers in India’s drought-hit southern state of Tamil Nadu stopped selling PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co.’s sodas alleging that the companies were depleting ground water. About 70 percent of the 1.5 million members of the local retailers association who stock carbonated drinks have stopped selling the two brands, A. M. Vikkramaraja, president of the group, said in a …