The latest business Intelligence for HR professionals and people managers everywhere
Sign UpOnline Version
North American Edition
6th March 2023
Together with

THE HOT STORY
Nevada OKs $330m in tax breaks for Tesla plant expansion
Tesla has won a package of tax breaks worth $330m from Nevada for the company's commitment to a massive expansion of its sprawling vehicle battery facilities east of Reno, which will also include the construction of a new electric semi-truck factory. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development said the deal would net the state more than $766m in new tax revenue over the next 20 years. Tesla will pay 91% of health insurance benefits for each new employee, and provide other benefits like paid leave, paid disability, free mental health services, parental and adoption leave and 401(k) matches. The Nevada Gigafactory’s workforce is expected to top 10,000 once the expansion is completed.
WINNING IN 2023
2023 ready or not, here we come!(...oh wait, it is already March??)

In one of Gartner’s latest reports, they mentioned that we are about to see a “historic amount of disruption” this year. Between a looming recession, layoffs, and changing employee demands… our employees are scared and don’t know what to expect.

Taking care of our employees matters more now than ever before. So where to start? Our guess is that some of the challenges you are facing sound like this:

  • Boosting Morale With the Uneasiness of Layoffs
  • Burnout, Wellness, and Mental Health
  • Establishing a Hybrid Culture
However, it doesn’t all have to be gloomy! For every challenge, there is a solution. That’s where Motivosity comes in. From building a culture of gratitude to considering the entire employee experience, we’ve got you covered with our HR Survival Guide for 2023. 

Ready to read? Then click below!

Download White Paper Now




 
STRATEGY
Salesforce CEO rows back on sacking plans
Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, has cancelled plans to slash the bottom 5% of the software company's workforce each year after protests from staff. Benioff last month proposed a new ranking system to rate all employees based on metrics including their impact on revenue, with the intention of culling the bottom 5% each year. But he scrapped the idea after workers “made a very passionate case that that is not a culture that they want to bring to Salesforce.”
Nordstrom to wind down operations in Canada
Nordstrom is winding down and liquidating its operations in Canada, closing 13 stores and laying off around 2,500 workers. It has filed for protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, a move that the retailer expects will see it book $300m-$350m in pre-tax charges. “We entered Canada in 2014 with a plan to build and sustain a long-term business there. Despite our best efforts, we do not see a realistic path to profitability for the Canadian business," chief executive Erik Nordstrom explained. The company's e-commerce operations in the country have already been wound down, while it stores are expected to be closed by June.
Who to fire? How the biggest companies plan mass lay-offs
Employers such as Goldman Sachs, Meta and Ford need to avoid lasting damage on future growth and morale as they axe jobs, reports the FT’s Brooke Masters.
MANAGEMENT
Zoom fires president 'without cause'
Video conferencing platform Zoom has sacked its president, Greg Tomb, "without cause," according to the company in a regulatory filing. The former Google executive had assumed the position in June 2022 and had participated in earnings calls as well as overseeing the company’s sales. A Zoom spokesperson stated that the company is not looking for a replacement. Zoom tripled its head count during the pandemic, but in February the company cut 15% of its staff - 1,300 people - to deal with waning demand. "We didn't take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyse our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities," CEO Eric Yuan explained.  
LEGAL
Ericsson to pay $206m for breaching U.S. prosecutor deal
Ericsson has agreed to pay $206.7m in a foreign bribery settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, which found the telecommunications company had breached an earlier deal. The Stockholm-based firm's plea agreement follows a scandal over possible payments made to the Islamic State militant group through its activities in Iraq. In 2019, the firm agreed to pay more than $1bn, including a criminal penalty, to resolve U.S. agencies’ investigations into a bribery scheme that ran from 2000 to 2016 and involved the company’s operations in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Kuwait and Indonesia. The company entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with prosecutors requiring it to retain a compliance monitor for three years and to cooperate in related probes. However, it failed to  fully disclose factual information and evidence related to schemes in Djibouti and China, the department said. Ericsson also failed to report evidence related to activities in Iraq that might constitute a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
TAX
Iowa Republicans advance bill to phase out state income tax
Iowa senators are advancing a bill that would eventually eliminate the state's income tax. Sen. Dan Dawson (R-Council Bluffs) who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said Iowa's revenues show the state can afford to get rid of the income tax, maintaining its competitiveness with other states that are also lowering their own rates. Senate Study Bill 1126 would lower Iowa's income tax rate to 3.55% in 2026, 2.95% in 2027 and 2.5% in 2028. Beginning in 2030, the bill would transform Iowa's taxpayer relief fund into an "individual income tax elimination fund" and use the money in the fund to eventually lower the individual income tax rate further until it is eliminated entirely. The bill would also lower Iowa's corporate tax rate to 4.75% over time. The bill comes a year after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a $1.9bn tax cut last year that includes a gradual phasing down of state taxes to a 3.9% flat rate by 2026.
WORKFORCE
Fourth-quarter labor costs revised higher
U.S. labor costs grew faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter, though the pace has slowed from the prior quarters. Unit labor costs - the price of labor per single unit of output - accelerated at a 3.2% annualized rate last quarter, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was revised up from the 1.1% pace reported last month. Unit labor costs rose at a 6.3% rate from a year ago, revised up from the previously reported 4.5% pace. Hourly compensation increased at a 4.9% pace, instead of a 4.1% rate as previously reported. It rose at an 8.2% rate in the third quarter and grew at a 4.4% rate compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Nonfarm productivity, meanwhile, which measures hourly output per worker, was downgraded to a 1.7% rate from the previously reported 3%. Annual average productivity fell 1.7% in 2022, the largest decline since 1974.  “We surged in productivity coming out of the pandemic. So now this is the correction period, So we shouldn’t get too depressed about the low productivity numbers,” said Carl Riccadonna, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas, in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
TECHNOLOGY
OpenAI launches ChatGPT for business customers
OpenAI is making its ChatGPT tool available to companies to incorporate into their own apps as it seeks commercial uses for the chatbot. The company is now offering paid access for businesses and developers who want to use the software’s ability to answer questions and generate text in their own applications and products. Instacart and Snap are among companies that are incorporating the technology. Snap, maker of the photo-sharing app Snapchat, has released an AI-enabled chatbot to Snapchat Plus members, who pay $3.99 a month to subscribe. Trained to display a “unique tone and personality,” Snapchat’s My AI can recommend birthday gift ideas and dinner recipes. It will eventually be rolled out to all Snap members.
INTERNATIONAL
Spain slams Ferrovial’s planned move to the Netherlands
Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group and part owner of Heathrow airport, has triggered a political storm by proposing to shift its head office to the Netherlands. The Spanish government has criticized the construction conglomerate’s decision to move its corporate domicile, saying such behavior was ungrateful and hindered Spain's economic interests. "Ferrovial is what it is because it owes everything to this country, and I believe that this decision is not in line with the effort that the country has made in terms of investments," government spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez said. Spanish economy minister Nadia Calviño told La Sexta TV the decision "seems to go against the interest and image of our country," describing it as "incomprehensible" at a time when Spain is attracting more foreign investment than ever. Ferrovial’s plans for a reverse merger would see its wholly-owned Dutch subsidiary Ferrovial International SE (FISE) absorb it and seek listings in Spain, the Netherlands and later the United States.
France faces strikes over pension reform
Strike action in France over the government's planned pension reform is expected to cause heavy disruption to public transport on Tuesday, according to the country’s transport minister and several public transport authorities. Unions calling for a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations are aiming to repeat the large turnout seen in the first major protest against the reform on January 19th. "There will be very strong impacts," Transport Minister Clement Beaune said in an interview with the France 3 TV station. "We are moving up a gear," the head of CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told French weekly JDD. "The ball is now in the president's court. It is up to him to withdraw this reform," he said, referring to President Emmanuel Macron. Macron is pushing for reform that would raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.
Uruguay’s Lacalle Pou seeks $150m in tax cuts
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou is to ask lawmakers to approve $150m in tax cuts for individuals and small enterprises. “We are in conditions to proceed with a reduction in taxes” amid a growing economy and improved public finances, Lacalle Pou told Congress, adding that lower taxes would boost consumption and the economy.  The government will sponsor legislation that would increase personal income tax deductions for 75% of tax payers, while about 63,000 low income workers would no longer have to pay tax at all. Bloomberg notes that  Uruguay is bucking the regional trend of countries such as Chile, Colombia and Brazil that are raising or planning to raise taxes to fund greater social spending.
OTHER
America's move to cashless society highlighted by decline in ATM numbers
The move toward a cashless society has seen the number of ATMs in the U.S. fall from a peak of 470,000 in 2019 to 451,000 at the end of 2022, according to data tracked by research firm Euromonitor International. Kendrick Sands, consumer finance research manager for the London-based firm, said that many people stopped using cash during the pandemic, and haven't gone back. “There was that scare that the virus was transmitted by paper, plus the trend of just buying everything online,” he explained. “That dealt almost a death blow to cash, especially for younger people.” This year, cash and checks are forecast to fall to 14% of total payments this year from 42% in 2010.
 


The Human Times is designed to help you stay ahead, spark ideas and support innovation, learning and development in your organisation.

The links under articles indicate original news sources. Some links lead directly to the source material. Others lead to paywalls where you may need a subscription. A third category are restricted by copyright rules.

For reaction and insights on any stories covered in the Human Times, join the discussion by becoming a member of our LinkedIn Group or Business Page, or follow us on Twitter.
Follow us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on Linkedin

This e-mail has been sent to [[EMAIL_TO]]

Click here to unsubscribe