Streetbeat News

Labor Issues

AAPL

TEAM

TSLA

Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) are using X, formerly known as Twitter, to hire talent through direct messages (DMs). Apple's Jesse Chand and Tesla's Dar Sleeper have posted job listings on X, encouraging interested candidates to DM them. Atlassian Corp. (TEAM) is also using the platform for recruitment, with senior iOS engineer Ritesh Gupta seeking a Senior Android Engineer. Smaller companies, including blockchain firm GoPulse, are also adopting this hiring method. This trend highlights X's growing role as a recruitment platform under Elon Musk's ownership.

Portfolio Pulse from Rounak Jain

December 12, 2023 | 11:07 am

IBM

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna criticized by Elon Musk for leaked video showing Krishna pressuring executives to follow discriminatory hiring practices, potentially violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The video reveals a policy of penalizing executives for not hiring enough Black or Hispanic candidates or hiring too many Asians, impacting their bonuses. Musk's comments highlight the irony given IBM's public stance against discrimination and his own company SpaceX's legal issues with hiring discrimination.

Portfolio Pulse from Shanthi Rexaline

December 12, 2023 | 10:12 am

EWU

The U.K. reported an employment change of 50K for October on a 3-month rolling basis, slightly below the prior figure of 54K.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 12, 2023 | 7:09 am

AMZN

Sean Cassidy, the director of safety, flight operations, and regulatory affairs for Amazon's drone delivery unit, has left the company. His departure is a setback for Amazon's Prime Air program, where he played a crucial role in liaising with the FAA. Despite obtaining Part 135 certification from the FAA, Amazon's drone program has faced challenges, including layoffs, regulatory issues, and a recent crash under investigation. Amazon has expanded drone delivery services in Texas and announced plans for the UK, Italy, and another US state.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Neuro

December 12, 2023 | 6:38 am

IIPR

SNDL

Skymint, a Michigan-based cannabis producer, is closing its Harvest Park facility and laying off 180 employees by March 1, 2024, due to excess supply, decreasing prices, and cost inflation in the state's cannabis sector. The company, which operates 22 retail locations, was acquired out of bankruptcy for $109.4 million by Tropics LP, a subsidiary of SunStream Bancorp Inc., sponsored by SNDL Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL). The dispensaries were reported to generate $68 million in annualized sales as of September. Skymint's financial issues included a $127 million lawsuit by Tropics over breached agreements and a sharp decline in sales, leading to a revenue drop to $110 million in 2022. Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR), which owns the Harvest Park property, has not commented on its future plans. SNDL's stock was down 2.71% at $1.435 per share.

Portfolio Pulse from Joana Scopel

December 11, 2023 | 10:30 pm

MSFT

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) has included 77 temporary game testers from ZeniMax Studios into a quality assurance union, with 23 testers becoming full-time employees and all testers receiving raises. The unionization has also provided testers with paid holidays, sick time, and complimentary copies of Starfield. This move by Microsoft, following its acquisition of ZeniMax's parent Bethesda for $8.1 billion in 2020, sets a new standard in the gaming industry's labor practices and contrasts with allegations against Sega of America for threatening unionized staff.

Portfolio Pulse from Franca Quarneti

December 11, 2023 | 10:06 pm

HAS

Hasbro has announced further headcount reductions as part of its strategic transformation, which will affect 1,100 employees globally. This is in addition to the approximately 800 job cuts already made, as reported in a recent filing.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 11, 2023 | 10:04 pm

HAS

Hasbro, Inc. is laying off nearly 20% of its workforce, amounting to approximately 1,100 jobs, due to persistent weak sales trends. The decision was reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited an internal company memo.

Portfolio Pulse from Charles Gross

December 11, 2023 | 9:56 pm

AMZN

Sean Cassidy, the head of safety, flight operations, and regulatory affairs for Amazon's drone delivery unit, Prime Air, has left the company. Cassidy played a crucial role in liaising with the FAA to secure regulatory approvals for the drone delivery program. Despite clearing a significant FAA regulatory hurdle in October, the program has faced layoffs, regulatory setbacks, and has struggled to meet delivery goals. The NTSB is investigating a recent crash at Amazon's drone test site, which follows another incident in June.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 11, 2023 | 9:42 pm

ARMK

Aramark's CFO Tom Ondrof is set to retire on January 12, 2024, and will serve as a strategic advisor until May 2024. Jim Tarangelo will take over as CFO starting January 13. Despite the transition, the company maintains a positive outlook for the fiscal year.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 11, 2023 | 9:32 pm