GERMANY
Industry wages to increase
The largest labor union and employers yesterday agreed on two rounds of wage increases for industrial workers, averting the threat of strike action in Europe’s biggest economy. The IG Metall union said the deal in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg would raise pay 5.2 percent next year and 3.3 percent in 2024, on top of 3,000 euros (US$3,108) in tax-free bonus payments to counter inflationary pressures. The union has recommended the agreement to cover about 3.9 million industrial workers. The deal results in a 8.5 percent wage increase, the union said, without clarifying how it calculated the hike. The talks with the Gesamtmetall employers’ association have been one the most significant domestic showdowns of Europe’s energy crisis so far.
UNITED STATES
New China curbs mulled
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator John Cornyn are lobbying hard for a ban on government business with Chinese chipmakers, Politico reported on Thursday, citing three people familiar with the matter. The senators want to get their amendment, which blocks federal access to semiconductor products and services made by Chinese firms, into the final version of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, the report said. The measure would broaden provisions that prohibit government agencies from doing business with Chinese telecoms or contractors that use their technologies, Politico said, adding that Schumer and Cornyn got their proposal added to the Senate draft act last month.
UNITED STATES
Starbucks workers on strike
Starbucks Corp workers at more than 100 stores on Thursday were on strike in their largest labor action since a campaign to unionize the company’s stores began late last year. The walkouts coincide with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives free reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink. Workers say it is often one of the busiest days of the year. Starbucks declined to say how many red cups it plans to distribute. Workers say they are seeking better pay, more consistent schedules and higher staffing levels in busy stores. Starbucks, which opposes the unionization effort, said that the protests are happening at a small number of its 9,000 company-run locations.
E-COMMERCE
Amazon to keep cutting jobs
Amazon.com Inc CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday said the company would be cutting jobs into next year as it adjusts to business conditions, his first public comments about the cost-reduction plans roiling Amazon since reports that it planned to wipe out about 10,000 jobs. “Leaders across the company are working with their teams and looking at their workforce levels, investments they want to make in the future, and prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses. This year’s review is more difficult due to the fact that the economy remains in a challenging spot and we’ve hired rapidly the last several years,” Jassy said in the statement. The CEO said people were notified in the company’s devices and books business and that some in Amazon’s “People, Experience and Technology” organization, which includes recruiters and human resources professionals, were offered voluntary buyouts. Many employees were given 60 days to find new jobs within the company, which would be followed by a severance package based on tenure if they fail to land new roles, company documents showed.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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