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.
‘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
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic gas stations are to fall NT$0.2 and NT$0.1 per liter respectively this week, even though international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices continued rising last week, as the US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected drop in US commercial crude oil inventories, CPC said in a statement. Based on the company’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil rose 2.38 percent last week from a week earlier, it said. News that US President Donald Trump plans a “secondary
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