A three-fourths share of the US smart speaker market & cross-industry partnerships for endless upselling opportunities, Amazon has reason aplenty to celebrate. And yet there looms a danger of down-staffing. How? If major hospitality chains implement convenient ordering with Alexa, what happens to in-house operators? A reallocation of roles! A far-fetched possibility perhaps, yet the repercussions appear fathomable for those whose job might hang by a thread, come the day.
The world’s largest search engine is also one of the largest tech employers, and after facing the massive controversy in 2017 on diversity, or the lack thereof, of engineer James Damore, little seems to have changed. In the recently released workplace diversity report for 2018, 90% of Google’s workforce is either white or Asian, and a meagre 25% of women in the company held leadership positions. The sharpest difference to its claims for being an inclusive company, though, was that only 2% of its leadership staff were black.
The recently released “Your Commute” feature on the world’s largest professional network is all set to make “the long commute to work” history for employers and prospective employees. The feature, which integrates with the mobile app, will also feature in job postings on the network and provide the added advantage of showing jobs in preferred locations to candidates. The move is welcomed by the majority as 85% of Americans “would take a pay-cut for a shorter commute.”
The likes of Google and Uber are taking notice of Apple’s latest recruits who previously worked at Tesla and NASA. Why? Having obtained the permit to test self-driving vehicles, the tech corporation is likely to go all in for its automation-inspired, Project Titan. With secrecy shrouding the topic since the beginning, the company’s actions make intentions clear - to catch market players, having already lost the first-mover advantage.
While top performers at an ideal organization may reap monetary rewards for their efforts, Instagram gives its star players an ‘axe’. Literally. The hunch that seeped into reality over a coffee outing is now part of a vibrant office ritual that bolsters both esteem and performance. It appears, company executives have unlocked the mantra to a wholesome professional life – A sense of recognition far outweighs financial incentives.
The car manufacturer will lay-off a record 9% of its workforce to register profits and prune duplicate roles. Yet, the victims of downsizing have made peace with the situation, that too, with positive reviews on social channels. Tesla will sanction severance pay in the form of ‘salary & stock vesting’ than leaving the ex-staff hanging by the thread.
Dhivya Suryadevara will be remembered in the annals of history as the first female CFO of a major car-maker. She’s almost the same age (39) as the accrued experience of the departing CFO Chuck Stevens (40 years) at GM. This is the second major female entrant in the company’s board, since the financial crisis of 2009, CEO Mary Barra being the first.
Mergers and acquisitions tend to be the devil’s cauldron in Corporate America. This reality was recently underlined in a leaked ‘insider’ audio of John Mackey, Wholefoods CEO. In the clip, Mackey claims to have vented frustrations at Amazon’s boardroom antics not caring “to get fired”. Such unheard stand-offs could as well be smothering the greater evil of a troubled employee-mindset, which ultimately explodes into traumatic ailments.
Or so we gather, from the latest installments of standing desks for all employees. Tim Cook, who’s an avid promoter of smart living, is smitten with the idea of healthier employees. And why not? On-campus plantations, gyms, not to mention an interstellar office make the top of perks being arrayed for the workforce. An investment which bears Apple the return of being the World’s Most Valued Company.
Due to the outcome, bonuses were stashed away in trash cans as the retailer missed its margins on the balance sheets. The blow was much greater for those in the top leadership who would take home an un-hiked compensation package than last year. Overall, the company’s directorship will look at a remuneration which is down 33%, thanks to a stock prize which has slipped 21% over the course of 2017.
The latest agreement grants consultation and negotiating rights to a union called Unite. 650 members of the cabin crew, based out of the airline’s UK basis, would gain representation via the aforementioned union in matters of compensation, work-hours & holidays. Ryanair has been putting its foot on the peddle to increasingly emerge as an employee-centric-brand, one might add, “to good effect”.
Current Chief Executive Ronald den Elzen will make space for Maggie, who takes office from September 1. Maggie joined Heineken in 1998 as a national sales planner, and since then continued her upwards path in the company hierarchy in various strategic roles. Ronald will move his towards Heineken Netherlands, where he’d be needed for a global role.
The same number has remained stubbornly low for a long time. Yet, it’s not the only company with lack of opportunities for people of color. Although Facebook Inc. claims to have the demographic at 3%, it still wouldn’t confirm the number of black people employed in technical positions. Seems, the topic of diversity and inclusion remains a hot-topic for collecting brownie-points in the media, failing to materialize where it matters.
Having romanticized the experience of coffee-drinking through 28,000 outlets in 77 countries, the Starbucks CEO could now be setting his sails for POTUS. News-stands are bustling with speculation that Mr. Schultz had made clear his intentions a year in advance to the board. Former J.C. Penney Chairman Myron E. Ullman will brace the hot-seat at Starbucks, as the company prepares to honor Howard with the title of Chairman Emeritus.
Two weeks into the inquiry of a not so “unusual” case of racial bias at Target and the company fires one of the three security guards involved. Ashanae Davis, who was accused of shoplifting a bikini, was forced to strip in the presence of security guards & a female manager. Out of court settlements & apologies may work for now, but time is ticking for the company to mend employee-outlook before it steps on yet another landmine.
The controversy that has torpedoed into a major headache for Qatar Airlines CEO, Akbar Al Baker, has led him to issue an apology lamenting his words implying a woman couldn’t do his job. Baker pointed to the Airlines’ impeccable male-to-female workforce ratio, asserting he would love to strategize a succession plan which beckons a woman to succeed him.
Software development platform Github is now Microsoft’s. Agreeing to pay $7.5 Billion in stock options, the latter came out with an announcement on Monday. Co-founders Chris Wanstrath, Tom Preston-Werner & PJ Hyett could now walk into the Tres-Commas club with their net-worth in excess of a $1 Billion each. All said, investors such as Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz & Josh Kushner are promised bang for their buck with the acquisition.
The partnership which has led to many employees resigning and thousands more sounding alarm with a petition, may not be extended after next March. That is when the ongoing Pentagon-Google brotherhood officially ends. However, with company spokesperson being tight-lipped and a top leadership which is split into two, little can be taken for its face-value.
Ramesh Tainwala shall no longer serve as the company’s CEO. The crisis, which is dragging the luggage-maker into the mud, accuses it of financial malpractices. The company’s current CFO, Kyle Gendreau, is said to replace Tainwala with immediate effect. Last week, short selling firm Blue Orca had raised doubts over Samsonite’s relationship with multiple entities owned by Tainwala.
Crypto-exchange Huobi is establishing foundational offices in Sao Paolo. Following an aggressive Chinese hunt-down on cryptocurrency trading in 2017, the exchange planned contingencies to branch-out internationally. As a consequence of which, Canada, USA & Japan have seen a flurry of activity from the firm’s representatives. Token Exchange Players with substantial market share such as Bitfinex, Binance & OKEx are making similar strides to spread outwards of China.
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