Business & Politics News and Discussions

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Amazon plans to lay off 10,000 people starting this week - NYT

Mon, November 14, 2022 at 11:05 AM

(Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc is planning to lay off about 10,000 people in corporate and technology jobs starting as soon as this week, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The job cuts will focus on the e-commerce giant's devices unit, which houses voice-assistant Alexa, as well as its retail division and human resources, according to the report, which also said the total number of layoffs remains fluid. ... The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

As of Dec. 31 last year, Amazon had more than 1.6 million full-time and part-time employees and had recently said it would freeze hiring to corporate workforce for the next few months. ... The news comes just weeks after Amazon warned of a slowdown in growth for the busy holiday season when it generates the highest sales, saying consumers and businesses had less money to spend due to rising prices.

Amazon is the latest U.S. company to make deep cuts to its employee base to brace for a potential economic downturn.

{snip}

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-p ... 22741.html

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Crazy rumor says Bob Iger might want to sell Disney to Apple

In a move worthy of HBO’s TV show hit Succession, Disney announced late on Sunday that Bob Iger is replacing Chapek as CEO. Chapek was the CEO of Disney for nearly three years. He was Iger’s pick for the job when he retired from his first tenure as CEO. Now, Iger’s new mission is to find another replacement. But Disney insiders now claim that Iger’s ultimate goal might be to sell the company, with Apple being the most likely buyer.


We have seen speculation in the past that either Disney or Apple would be interested in such a deal. Previously, Iger noted that Steve Jobs was a close friend. A Disney-Apple merger might have been on the table if it weren’t for Jobs’s untimely death in 2011.

https://bgr.com/business/crazy-rumor-sa ... -to-apple/

[weatheriscool]

Ford Recalls Over 634K SUVs Due to Fuel Leaks and Fire Risk
Source: Associated Press

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is recalling over 634,000 SUVs worldwide because a cracked fuel injector can spill fuel or leak vapors onto a hot engine and cause fires.

The recall covers Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs from the 2020 through 2023 model years. All have 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engines.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said Thursday it's not recommending that owners stop driving the vehicles or park them outdoors because fires are rare and generally don't happen when the engines are off.

But Ford said it has received 20 reports of fires, including three that ignited nearby structures. The company also said it has four claims of fires that were noticed less than five minutes after the engines were turned off. Ford also has four injury claims not involving burns, and 43 legal claims attributed to the problem.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles ... -fire-risk

[weatheriscool]

Crazy rumor says Bob Iger might want to sell Disney to Apple

In a move worthy of HBO’s TV show hit Succession, Disney announced late on Sunday that Bob Iger is replacing Chapek as CEO. Chapek was the CEO of Disney for nearly three years. He was Iger’s pick for the job when he retired from his first tenure as CEO. Now, Iger’s new mission is to find another replacement. But Disney insiders now claim that Iger’s ultimate goal might be to sell the company, with Apple being the most likely buyer.


We have seen speculation in the past that either Disney or Apple would be interested in such a deal. Previously, Iger noted that Steve Jobs was a close friend. A Disney-Apple merger might have been on the table if it weren’t for Jobs’s untimely death in 2011.

https://bgr.com/business/crazy-rumor-sa ... -to-apple/

It may well improve the company! Maybe? China is probably a little saner in some ways and apple is largely centered there.

[weatheriscool]

Hyundai announces new Georgia plant's $1B parts supplier
Source: AP

an hour ago

RICHMOND HILL, Ga. (AP) — South Korean automaker Hyundai has announced a second large supplier for its new electric car plant on the Georgia coast.

Hyundai Mobis plans to invest nearly $1 billion in a new facility in Bryan County that could employ around 1,500 workers, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news release.

The plant in Richmond Hill will make powertrains for Hyundai’s electric vehicles manufactured at its new plant scheduled to open in 2025 about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Savannah as well as components for a Kia plant in West Point and another Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama, officials said.

Earlier this month, the governor announced that Joon Georgia would invest $317 million and hire 630 workers for a Hyundai parts plant in Statesboro.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/technology-a ... 628b03170f

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to Triple U.S. Chip Investment to $40 Billion to Serve Apple and Others
by Cheng Teng-Fang
December 6, 2022

Introduction:

(Nikkei Asia) PHOENIX, U.S. -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is to more than triple its investment in the U.S. to $40 billion and bring the world's most advanced chip production technology to the country by 2026, in a victory for Washington's push to onshore vital parts of the semiconductor supply chain.

TSMC, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, announced on Tuesday it will increase its investment in Arizona, where it is building a $12 billion chip facility, to $40 billion in order to build a second, even more advanced plant there.

The announcement came ahead of an equipment installation ceremony at the first facility on Tuesday, attended by U.S. President Joe Biden and numerous tech industry executives.

The additional facility will begin operation by 2026 and will be the first plant in the U.S. to make 3-nanometer chips, the most advanced currently available, a White House official said. In line with the expansion, TSMC will increase its workforce in Arizona to 4,500, from an initial plan of 1,600, the company said.

Nanometer size refers to the distance between transistors on a chip -- the smaller the number, generally speaking, the more powerful the chip. As the "brains" of electronic devices, such chips are vital for everything from smartphones and autonomous vehicles to supercomputers and AI technologies.

Read more here: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tech/ ... le-others

(Axios) Context: TSMC's announcement is just the latest in a string of high-profile investment plans from computer chip companies.

• In early 2022, Intel announced it would spend $20 billion on a new chip production facility near Columbus, Ohio, and has plans to spend a similar amount building out plants in Chandler, Arizona.

• Samsung Electronics has floated the possibility that it could follow a previously announced $17 billion investment in chip production in Austin, Texas, with up to $200 billion on 11 plants in the area, according to Bloomberg.

What they're saying: The U.S. and European focus on boosting chip manufacturing, along with China's simultaneous desire to lead global tech "all point to increased semiconductor capital expenditure in the coming decade," analysts with S&P Global wrote in a recent research report.

The bottom line: In the aggregate, the reshuffling of the global chip market along national lines could be inefficient and costly as countries around the world rush to build, or rebuild, their own local supply of chips.

• But in the U.S., it will make for good politics, offering shovel-ready photo ops for politicians at plants that promise good-paying jobs that, by definition, won't be outsourced to China.

Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2022/12/07/us-ch ... iden-tsmc

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Wells Fargo agrees to $3.7 billion settlement with CFPB over consumer abuses

Source: CNBC

Wells Fargo agreed to a $3.7 billion settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over customer abuses tied to bank accounts, mortgages and auto loans, the regulator said Tuesday. The bank was ordered to pay a $1.7 billion civil penalty and “more than $2 billion in redress to consumers,” the CFPB said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the San Francisco-based company said that many of the “required actions” tied to the settlement were already done. “The bank’s illegal conduct led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes,” the agency said in its release. “Consumers were illegally assessed fees and interest charges on auto and mortgage loans, had their cars wrongly repossessed, and had payments to auto and mortgage loans misapplied by the bank.”

The resolution lifts one overhang for the bank, which has been led by CEO Charlie Scharf since October 2019. In October, the bank set aside $2 billion for legal, regulatory and customer remediation matters, igniting speculation that a settlement was nearing. But other regulatory hurdles remain: Wells Fargo is still operating under consent orders tied to its 2016 fake accounts scandal, including one from the Fed that caps its asset growth.

Furthermore, the bank said that fourth-quarter expenses would include a $3.5 billion operating loss, or $2.8 billion after taxes, from the incremental costs of the CFPB civil penalty and customer remediation efforts, as well as other legal matters. The bank is still expected to post an overall profit when it reports results in mid January, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/20/wells-f ... buses.html

[caltrek]

I will repost something I first posted in the Afghanistan thread:

So many write about the U.S. "defeat" in Afghanistan. In turn, this is treated by some as a sign of the collapse of the liberal order. Yet, what is it exactly that we are so supposed to wish for in terms of a succession to this liberal order?

A theocracy?

Totalitarian dictatorships?

Tyrannies in which dictators move toward totalitarian dictatorships?

I suppose I should have added to the list nationalism in its aggressively expansionist form?

Also, I should have included nationalism in its isolationist form?

Afghanistan should make us pause to consider these questions.

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

How Bank of America achieved a massive comeback from the brink of collapse
Published Tue, Dec 27 20228:15 AM EST

in 2009 and net income dropped from a high of $21 billion in 2006, to just $4 billion in 2008.

“Bank of America was one reason why much of the investing public and consumers and government lost faith and trust in banking,” recalled Mike Mayo, a bank analyst at Wells Fargo. “If the government did not intervene for Bank of America and the other banks, Bank of America would have failed.”

Fast forward to today, BofA is thriving despite concerns over inflation and threats of a possible recession. The bank reported net income of $31.9 billion in 2021, compared with just $4 billion in 2008.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/27/how-bof ... lapse.html

[wjfox]

UK could face ‘banking crisis worse than 2008’ if City fails to prepare for fossil fuel collapse

Thu 12 Jan 2023 06.00 GMT

The UK could suffer 500,000 job losses and be forced to spend £674bn of taxpayer cash to rescue its banks, unless the City prepares for the value of fossil fuels to collapse as a result of climate crisis regulations, research shows.

The report, published by a collective of climate activist groups known as the One to One campaign, suggests those financial repercussions could eclipse those linked to the 2008 banking crisis, which forced the government to bail out major lenders including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, and cost the UK roughly £560bn.

It illustrates the risks that are likely to emerge if banks and insurers fail to hold enough capital to cover the potential losses they are likely to face as a result of climate regulations meant to achieve net zero emissions targets over the coming years.

Those prospective regulations will probably make it harder for carbon-intensive companies to sell their products like oil and gas to customers, so they will instead be forced to buy greener sources of energy. This will reduce the value of carbon-heavy assets including shares or loans for fossil fuel projects or their related companies, which will in turn harm the institutional investors like bank, insurers and fund managers that hold them.

Globally, the report estimates that banks would probably need a total of $4.9tn in international bailouts if fossil fuel assets collapsed in 2030, putting 13.6 million jobs at risk worldwide.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... -than-2008

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Walmart raises minimum wage as retail labor market remains tight
Source: CNBC

Walmart said Tuesday that it is raising its minimum wage for store employees to $14 an hour, representing a roughly 17% jump for the workers who stock shelves and cater to customers. Starting in early March, store employees will make between $14 and $19 an hour. They currently earn between $12 and $18 an hour, according to Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield.

With the move, the retailer’s U.S. average wage is expected to be more than $17.50, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner said in an employee-wide memo on Tuesday. About 340,000 store employees will get a raise because of the move, Hatfield said. That amounts to a pay increase for roughly 21% of Walmart’s 1.6 million employees.

The retail giant, which is the country’s largest private employer, is hiking pay at an interesting moment. Some economists are calling for a recession. Prominent tech companies, media organizations and banks, including Google, Amazon and Goldman Sachs, have laid off thousands of employees and set off alarm bells. And weaker sales trends have prompted retailers, including Macy’s and Lululemon, to recently warn investors about a tougher year ahead.

But so far, retailers have largely avoided job cuts. Instead, they are still grappling with a tight labor market. Retail, compared with other industries, tends to have higher churn than other industries — which allows employers to manage their headcount by slowing the backfilling of jobs said Gregory Daco, chief economist for EY Parthenon, the global strategy consulting arm of Ernst & Young.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/24/walmart ... tight.html

[weatheriscool]

South Dakota Gov. Noem threatens charges for abortion pills
Source: Associated Press

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, along with the state’s Republican attorney general, said Tuesday the state will prosecute pharmacists who dispense abortion-inducing pills following a recent Food and Drug Administration rule change that broadens access to the pills.

The Republican governor and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley released a letter to South Dakota pharmacists saying they are “subject to felony prosecution” if they procure or dispense abortion-inducing drugs. The state bans all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person.

“South Dakota will continue to enforce all laws including those that respect and protect the lives of the unborn,” Noem and Jackley said in the letter.

The FDA earlier this month formally updated labeling for abortion pills to allow many more retail pharmacies to dispense them, so long as they complete a certification process.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-hea ... cfe64e84d3

[weatheriscool]

Exxon smashes Western oil majors' earnings record with $56 billion profit for 2022
Source: Reuters

Exxon Mobil Corp posted a $56 billion profit for 2022, the company said on Tuesday, taking home about $6.3 million per hour last year, and setting not only a company record but a historic high for the Western oil industry.

Oil majors are expected to break their own annual records on high prices and soaring demand, pushing their combined take to near $200 billion. The scale has renewed criticism of the oil industry and sparked calls for more countries to levy windfall profit taxes on the companies.

Exxon’s results far exceeded the then-record $45.2 billion net profit it reported in 2008, when oil hit $142 per barrel, 30% above last year’s average price. Deep cost cuts during the pandemic helped supercharge last year’s earnings.

“Overall earnings and cashflow were up pretty significantly year on year,” Exxon Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells told Reuters. “So that came really from a combination of strong markets, strong throughput, strong production, and really good cost control.”

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/exxon-m ... AKBN2UA0ZJ

[weatheriscool]

Apple sales drop 5% in largest quarterly revenue decline since 2016
Published Thu, Feb 2 2023 12:10 PM EST
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/02/app ... -2023.html

Apple missed expectations for revenue, profit, and sales for many of its lines of business on Thursday, sending the stock lower in extended trading. Apple's overall sales for the holiday quarter were about 5% lower than last year's, the first year-over-year sales decline since 2019.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said three factors hurt the results: a strong dollar, production issues in China affecting the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the overall macroeconomic environment.

"On the third factor, I would say was just the challenging macroeconomic environment, and you're hearing that from, I would think, everybody," Cook told CNBC's Steve Kovach.

[weatheriscool]

Disney to cut 7,000 jobs as it slashes costs and reorganizes
Source: CNBC

Disney said Wednesday it is planning to reorganize into three segments. The media and entertainment giant said it would now be made up of three divisions:

Disney Entertainment, which includes most of its streaming and media operations
An ESPN division that includes the TV network and streaming service
A Parks, Experiences and Products unit



The move marks the most significant action Bob Iger has taken since returning to the company as CEO in November. Disney announced the changes minutes after it posted its most recent quarterly earnings. On Wednesday during its quarterly earnings call with investors, Disney also announced it would be cutting $5.5 billion costs, which will be made up of $3 billion from content, excluding sports, and the remaining $2.5 billion from non-content cuts.

Disney also said it would be eliminating 7,000 jobs from its workforce. That would be about 3% of the roughly 220,0000 people it employed as of Oct. 1, according to an SEC filing, with roughly 166,000 in the U.S. and about 54,000 internationally.


This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/disney- ... ation.html

[wjfox]