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.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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