Whirlpool Corp. plans to cut 1,000 salaried positions worldwide to reduce costs.  The ongoing salaried job cuts are part of a broader move to drive $400 million to $500 million in cost savings during a period of lower sales that executives attribute to a slow housing market from high interest rates.  The Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) “executed the first wave of our global actions in the first quarter and we’ll begin to see the margin benefit in the second quarter,” generating about $100 million in cost savings, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrati ..read more

The growing need for mental health care for children and adolescents led D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s to reach beyond its own clients.  Holly Anderton, D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s The Grand Rapids-based nonprofit that works with children and families now offers psychiatric services to the public, a move that adds some much-needed capacity for mental health care for people 18 and younger.  “The biggest thing we see is need,” said Holly Anderton, director of program impact and Knapp Campus services at D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s. “It feels strongly aligned with who we are as an organization. We ..read more

Priority Health has partnered with a third-party administrator and plans to begin offering a new option for employers that self-fund their employee health benefits.  Grand Rapids-based Priority Health expects to launch a self-funded option through a partnership with Healthcare Management Administrators Inc., a Bellevue, Wash.-based third-party administrator, for coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2025. Priority Health selected Grand Rapids-based Advantage Benefits Group as one of the first benefit consultants to provide quotes to employers for self-funded coverage, starting in June.  Partn ..read more

The company Nathan Baar started in Grand Rapids three years ago for today’s gig economy hopes to connect health care professionals with providers who need medical staff for a temporary period.   Nathan Baar Baar said his long-term goal with DecentraCare is to build-out a platform for consumers to shop for medical care.  In bringing the gig-economy model behind Uber and Lyft to health care staffing, DecentraCare LLC targets clinicians such as nurses, aides, medical assistants, and nurse practitioners who want flexibility in their work life. Outpatient care providers that need a flexib ..read more

LANSING — Bills that would restore state incentives for the production of movies and other content in Michigan were advanced Tuesday by a legislative committee. The 10-0 vote, with two abstentions, was a positive step for the industry and its advocates nearly nine years after former Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers ended a film incentives program. But it remains to be seen whether House Bills 4907-4908 will be enacted into law. The state launched one of the country’s most lucrative moviemaking tax credits in 2008 and, after a change in governors, replaced it in 2012 with a scaled ..read more

CWD Real Estate Investment LLC’s plan to convert a downtown office building into residential units received the first vote of approval Wednesday morning for $15.2 million worth of brownfield incentives.  The Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority approved the amendment to CWD’s brownfield plan for the building to broaden the scope of allowable activities under the scope of the project. The original plan for 111 Lyon St. NW called for rehabilitating the upper floors to attract a new anchor commercial or office tenant. However, the developer has switched gears and now plans 140 res ..read more

A West Michigan aerospace company has launched a series A funding round to help bring an initial product to market in the next six to 12 months.   Lowell-based Orb Aerospace hopes to raise $10 million in the latest funding round, which follows a $2 million bridge funding round and a prior $3.5 million seed round led by Grand Rapids-based Continuum Ventures LLC, the family investment company of Doug and Maria DeVos.  Founded in 2017, Orb Aerospace is a humanitarian-focused aerospace company in the process of building a decentralized air travel network without the need for infrast ..read more

Grand Rapids city commissioners and residents say they feel let down after a local businessman appointed to fill a commission vacancy in March filed to run for the seat this week after repeatedly claiming he had no plans to do so. Bing Goei, owner and CEO of Eastern Floral and founder of the Goei Center, filed as the sixth and final candidate for the Third Ward commission seat on Monday, one day before the Tuesday filing deadline for the August primary.  Goei beat out six other candidates to fill the vacancy left when former Commissioner Nathaniel Moody resigned citing personal reasons at ..read more

Grand Action 2.0 received the first vote of approval this morning for an estimated $318 million Transformational Brownfield Plan for the Acrisure Amphitheater, soccer stadium and adjacent mixed-use projects.  The Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority unanimously approved the Transformational Brownfield Plan, which is set to be considered for approval by the city commission on May 21. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board also must approve the powerful funding tool, which is expected to be scheduled in June.  “It’s important to note … $130 million dollars of private philanthropy ..read more

With nearly 30% of the office space in Bridgewater Place sitting vacant, the 18-story office tower’s owner has decided to bring in a new firm to market the space to potential tenants.  California-based Hertz Investment Group dismissed Colliers International as its leasing agent for Bridgewater Place and hired brokerage firm JLL in its place. The move is aimed at addressing the spiking vacancy in the class A office tower, where Corewell Health has vacated about 55,000 square feet of offices and is set to leave another 15,000 square feet of temporary space in the coming weeks.  “Histor ..read more