Business in Brief

Applied Materials announced it would cut 1,300 to 1,500 jobs over the next 18 months, including about 50 in the headquarters of its Israeli branch in Rehovot, which has 900 employees. Those to be fired will be informed next week. The company will fire 10%-12% of its workforce globally, and the move is expected to save $450 million a year. The company makes equipment for the semiconductor industry. (Ido Solomon)

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer will extend the present map of areas of national priority until the end of 2010. The two will sign the order next week. The map is important because it determines what regions and towns will receive various tax and investment benefits from the state. The ministries agreed yesterday that they will draw up a new map by the end of June 2010, which will emphasize support for the periphery. (Moti Bassok)

For the first time this year, more tourists arrived last month than in 2008. The October numbers showed 329,000 tourists visited last month, up from 302,000 in the same month last years, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. This was the highest figure for October ever. The number of tourists spending at least one night in Israel rose 6% from last year for the month, while the number of day visitors was up 20% last month. (Irit Rosenblum)

The salary figures for Thai workers employed in agriculture on moshavim show they earn an average of NIS 5,278 a month in wages, well over the minimum wage of NIS 3,850. Of course these are numbers supplied by various moshav employers who pay their workers according to the law and agreements. (Amiram Cohen)

Once again the courts have found serious faults in the Israel Railways tender process. The Tel Aviv District Court canceled the awarding of a NIS 130 million electronic "intelligent" ticketing system tender won by a subsidiary of the Amanet group. Instead the tender was awarded to Italian firm Elsag. The court said the Amanet bid should never have been allowed since the company did not meet the conditions of the tender as its bank guarantees did not meet the requirements, and the Railways tender committee acted improperly. Elsag, whose bid was NIS 43.2 million higher than Amanet's, filed suit in February. (Orr Hirschauge and Avi Bar-Eli)