Tag: business news today

Business News

Microsoft to lay off more employees months after letting 10,000 workers go

Microsoft confirmed Monday that it’s eliminating additional jobs, a week after the start of its 2024 fiscal year. The cuts are in addition to the downsizing announced in January that resulted in 10,000 layoffs. The software maker also disclosed a small number of cuts this time last year. GeekWire reported on the latest cuts earlier Monday. Amazon, Google and other large technology companies have also scaled back this year after adding headcount rapidly to meet rising demand during the Covid pandemic. Microsoft has said in recent months that clients are looking for ways to save money on their cloud computing…
Business News

Watchdog probing claims that Nike Canada, a gold company benefiting from forced Uyghur labour

Canada’s watchdog for corporate wrongdoing says she has enough to launch an investigation of allegations that Nike Canada and a gold mining company are benefiting from the forced labor of Uyghurs in China. It’s the first time the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) has launched an investigation since the federal government appointed Sheri Meyerhoffer to the role in April 2019. “These are very serious issues that have been brought to our attention,” Meyerhoffer said Tuesday. “Canadian companies are expected to respect Canadian standards for human rights and environmental protection when they work outside of Canada.” A…
Business News

Economic growth beats expectations with 3.1% gain in Q1: StatCan – Business News

Economy beats expectations The Canadian Press – May 31, 2023 / 5:58 am | Stories: 429444 Photo: The Canadian Press The Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. The latest data shows growth beating out the federal agency’s own forecast of 2.5 per cent for the quarter. A preliminary estimate suggests the economy grew by 0.2 per cent in April, after remaining flat in March. The ongoing resilience in the economy will likely spur discussions of a potential rate hike, as the Bank of Canada is…
Business News

Breaking down the snacking occasion

CHICAGO — The devil, as they say, is in the details. While most people agree that snacking is a significant food and beverage market trend, success requires understanding who the key customers are, what they prefer to snack on and when. The market researcher 84.51º, Cincinnati, a business unit of Kroger Co., dedicated its May 2023 Consumer Digest report to better understanding the snack shopper. The report consists of responses from 450 verified Kroger shoppers who had shopped at one of the retailer’s banners during the past three months and focused on their snacking habits. “Younger shoppers are the shoppers…
Business News

Canadian burn survivor’s 40-shade foundation line gets picked up by beauty giant Sephora

Basma Hameed is living her childhood dream to create her own cosmetics. She has developed a 40-shade foundation called Basma — now selling online and soon to be available in stores at beauty giant Sephora. “It’s still hard to believe, but it’s incredible,” Hameed, 36, said of her success. “You don’t [expect] somebody who’s a burn survivor to launch a beauty brand.” When she was two years old, living in her native country of Iraq, Hameed was burned by hot oil in a kitchen accident — leaving permanent scars on part of her face that made her a target for…
Business News

Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting takeaways: Warren Buffett’s remarks

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, criticized the government’s intervention in recent bank failures, saying on Saturday it averted what could have become an even bigger crisis. Yet he said the US banking system had become too complicated — and it was not surprising that the banks failed. He said he’d been selling bank stocks, first at the start of the pandemic and more recently over the past six months as banks increasingly face mismanagement and respond to bad incentives. “The American public doesn’t understand their banking system — and some people in Congress don’t understand it anymore…
Business News

ChatGPT makes its debut as a smartphone app on iPhones – Business News

ChatGPT now on iPhone Matt O’Brien, The Associated Press – May 18, 2023 / 11:27 am | Story: 427472 Photo: The Canadian Press FILE – The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, March 21, 2023, in Boston. The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT is set to testify to Congress as lawmakers call for new rules to guide the rapid development of AI technology. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is scheduled to speak at a Senate hearing Tuesday, May 16. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File) ChatGPT is…
Business News

Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers

Amazon will lay off 9,000 more employees, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday. The cuts are on top of the previous layoffs that commenced last November and extended into January. That round affected more than 18,000 employees. Amazon made the decision to lay off more employees as it looks to streamline costs and take into account the uncertain economy, as well as the “uncertainty that exists in the near future,” Jassy said. The company just wrapped up the second phase of its annual budgeting process, referred to internally as “OP2.” “The overriding tenet of our…