ELECTRICITY
Cleanup may cost jobs
Japan’s embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) plans to shed more than 1,000 jobs through voluntary retirements by the second half of next year, sources told Reuters, as it seeks to win more financial aid to clean up its crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. TEPCO is working on a reorganization plan to fend off more drastic proposals, including possibly dragging the company through bankruptcy in return for a publicly funded cleanup and shutdown of its Fukushima reactors. The government has agreed to spend ￥47 billion (US$470 million) on dealing with about 1,000 tanks of radiated water at TEPCO’s crippled plant. The Japanese government is considering paying part of the cost to decommission the nuclear reactors.
BANKING
UK clients being spammed
Cybercrime investigators are looking into a barrage of spam sent to millions of British banking customers designed to freeze their computers and demand a ransom, Britain’s National Crime Agency said on Friday. The agency, which began operating last month, said its National Cyber Crime Unit had become “aware of a mass e-mail spamming event which is ongoing, where people are receiving e-mails that appear to be from banks and other financial institutions.” The agency said it considered the attack a “significant risk.” It added that while the spam e-mails may have been sent out to “tens of millions of UK customers,” they appear to be targeted mainly at small and medium-sized businesses. The spam carries an attachment that appears to be correspondence related to the text of the e-mail — such as a voice mail or fax or details of a purported suspicious transaction or invoice seeking payment, but the attachment injects a malicious program into the computer, the agency said.
HEALTHCARE
Diaper firm plans spin-off
Kimberly-Clark Corp, the maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers, plans to spin off its healthcare business, leaving management to focus on its consumer and professional brands. The tax-free deal would create a stand-alone, publicly traded company with about US$1.6 billion in annual sales, Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark said on Thursday in a statement. The unit that would be separated makes products such as sterile wraps, surgical face masks and catheters. About 70 percent of its sales last year were in North America, with most of the rest in Europe and Asia. Kimberly-Clark’s intent to separate its healthcare unit contrasts with competitors such as Clorox Co and Newell Rubbermaid Inc that are seeking to deepen their operations in the market.
INVESTMENT
Geithner joins Warburg
Former US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner is joining private-equity firm Warburg Pincus, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Geithner, who played a major role in combating the global financial crisis during the four years he served as US Treasury secretary, will join the New York-based firm in March as president and managing director, the newspaper reported Geithner as saying in an interview. Geithner stepped down as US Treasury secretary in January.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
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