PHARMACEUTICALS
Roche cuts 4,800 more jobs
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche yesterday announced it was shedding 4,800 jobs worldwide as part of a cost-cutting program, amounting to about 6 percent of its workforce. It said it would also transfer another 800 posts from its Swiss headquarters to other parts of the group and outsource 700 more jobs. In total, 6,300 jobs are affected by the cost-cutting exercise which Roche first announced in September and hopes will generate 1.8 billion Swiss francs (US$1.813 billion) of savings next year and SF2.4 billion from 2012. The restructuring will cost about SF2.7 billion.
AUTOMOBILES
Toyota R&D center for China
Toyota yesterday said it would invest nearly US$700 million to set up its first fully-fledged research and development base in China in response to demand in the country’s booming auto market. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (China) Co Ltd will build the plant at an economic development zone in Changshu, near Shanghai, with plans to begin operations next spring. “It will be Toyota’s first full-fledged research and development company in China,” a company spokeswoman said in Tokyo. Toyota, which fully owns the company, plans to invest a total of US$689 million dollars to purchase land, build research facilities and a test track, she said.
SOFTWARE
Thumbs-down on break-up
Microsoft Corp chief executive officer Steve Ballmer and chairman Bill Gates, responding to a request to consider breaking up the company to boost the return for investors, say they aren’t in favor of the idea. The executives made the remarks after a question at an investor meeting in Bellevue, Washington. Microsoft, which makes most of its money from its Office and Windows computer software, also offers everything from Xbox video-game machines to mobile- phone programs to Hotmail Web e-mail services. A breakup doesn’t make sense because the computer industry is consolidating, Ballmer said: “I don’t think it would be useful. It creates economic dis-synergies.”
INTERNET
Facebook fixes bug
Facebook said on Tuesday a bug in a system designed to detect fake profiles had disabled a number of legitimate accounts on the social network. Facebook did not say how many accounts were disabled by the bug, which primarily affected women’s accounts, according to technology blogs. “Earlier today, we discovered a bug in a system designed to detect and disable likely fake accounts,” a spokesman said. “Upon discovering the bug, we immediately worked to resolve it. It’s now been fixed, and we’re in the process of reactivating and notifying the people who were affected.”
TELECOMS
Google offers iPhone app
Google launched a Google Voice for the iPhone application on Tuesday after a lengthy dispute with Apple that drew the attention of US government telecom regulators. Google Voice allows users to merge their home, office and mobile phones into a single number. It also allows them to make cheap international phone calls, send free SMS messages and provides transcripts of voicemail messages. Google Voice for iPhone is available for immediate downloading from Apple’s online App Store. The service is only available in the US for the moment and requires a Google Voice account.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan’s semiconductor exports to the US to encourage chip manufacturers to move their production facilities to the US, but experts are questioning his strategy, warning it could harm industries on both sides. “I’m very confused and surprised that the Trump administration would try and do this,” Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst and founder of TECHnalysis Research in California, said in an interview with the Central News Agency on Wednesday. “It seems to reflect the fact that they don’t understand how the semiconductor industry really works,” O’Donnell said. Economic sanctions would