Business News - English

• Ford temporarily lays off 300 workers amidst ongoing UAW strikes ripple effects in the U.S auto industry

  After General Motors (GM) cut 164 jobs, Ford, on Monday announced that over 300 workers had been temporarily laid off due to "knock-on effects" from the ongoing strike against the company and two other US automakers. The strike against the "Big Three" car manufacturers -- Ford, Stellantis and General Motors -- began on September 15 when a previous contract expired without a replacement. Instead of calling for all of its 146,000 members to strike at once, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has deployed a targeted approach, adding more sites as the weeks drag on. "Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW's targeted strike strategy has knock-on effects for facilities that are not directly targeted for a work stoppage," Ford said in a statement on Monday. "Approximately 330 employees have been asked not to report to work," the statement added, saying the total number of "strike-related layoffs" at Ford now totalled 930. Ford said its sites impacted by Monday's announcement were in Chicago, Illinois and Lima, Ohio. Stellantis and General Motors have also reduced staff at several sites for the same reasons. Initially, the UAW called on some 13,000 members at the three automakers to stop work, then added another 5,600 a week later due to lack of progress in negotiations. A further 7,000 were added the following week to bring the total to some 25,000.

  --------  

  0:38

  --------

  0:38
• IT companies push employees to return to office five days in a week

  Work from Office: IT majors Wipro, Capgemini, LTIMindtree have begun nudging their employees to work from office on all or at least 50% of the working days in a week, reported Economic Times. As per the report, this push to return to office is being implemented by IT/BPM and some technology companies across the country through verbal and informal communication channels. This comes as the industry is facing client demand crunch due to the global macroeconomic crisis which is squeezing tech spending. Also Read: TCS abandons hybrid work, mandates full office attendance from October 1 IT Companies' Mandate As per Economic Times, several companies in Bengaluru and Pune have also issued similar mandates to their employees. Among them are the Indian units of Sweden-based Ericsson and US-headquartered Fiserv. Both multinationals have asked their employees to work from office (WFO) at least three and five days a week, respectively, starting from October/November, the report further said. While Ericsson has mandated a 50-50 split, Capgemini's employees in India are required to attend the office thrice a week. As per Economic Times, the firm’s senior management has now requested its managers to send “feelers” on getting their team members back to attending office for all working days. Capgemini's CEO has also told the publication that the company will be taking into account the personal situations of employees and will not be “abrupt” in pushing them to return to office. This move by the IT majors come three years after setting up the hybrid work owing to the covid-19 pandemic. TCS Ends WFH Earlier, TCS has announced that it is discontinuing hybrid working system and mandated all the employees to come to the office for five days a week, starting from October 1, 2023. In its FY23 annual report, TCS emphasized the importance of employees returning to the office. The report noted that more than half of the company's workforce was hired after March 2020, and these newer employees benefit significantly from physical interactions with senior colleagues and leaders to assimilate and learn from their behavior and ways of thinking.

  --------  

  0:30

  --------

  0:30
• Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2023 from Oct 8: Early access for Prime members; check deals on offer

  Amazon India is set to kick off its annual festive season sale, the 'Amazon Great Indian Festival,' on October 8, with exclusive early access for its Prime members starting a day earlier. The company will offer products from a staggering 12 lakh sellers during this upcoming festival sale. In a statement, the company expressed, "The highly anticipated festive extravaganza in India, 'Amazon Great Indian Festival' (GIF), is scheduled to commence on October 8, granting 24 hours of early access to Prime members."Deals on smartphones, tablets, earphones, moreShoppers will get significant discounts on a wide range of products, including smartphones, laptops, and home appliances.The company has confirmed that the base variant of the iPhone 13 will be available at an all-time low price of less than Rs 40,000. Similarly, the MacBook Air has also received a massive price reduction and is currently available for Rs 69,990. Interested buyers can expect discounts of up to 89 percent on various gadgets, including the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Motorola Razr 40 smartphones, as well as laptops, smartwatches, and more. SBI cardholders can enjoy an extra 10 percent discount. Survey on online shoppingAccording to a recent survey conducted by Nielsen Media on behalf of Amazon India, more than 77 percent of consumers emphasized that online festive shopping events enhance the convenience of their online shopping experience, thanks to options like expedited delivery. The survey also revealed that 76 percent of Indian consumers tend to purchase luxury and authentic beauty brands during online festive shopping events. Manish Tiwary, Vice President & Country Manager, India Consumer Business at Amazon, stated, "We are all set to deliver 'boxes of happiness' to our customers all over India. Customers will gain access to thousands of new product launches from top brands and hundreds of thousands of sellers across the country. Our teams, including our dedicated delivery associates, are enthusiastic about making Amazon Great India Festival 2023 the most significant one yet for millions of customers across Bharat."

  --------  

  0:29

  --------

  0:29
• Indian billionaire & mining tycoon Harpal Randhawa, his son killed in plane crash in Zimbabwe

  In a tragic incident, Indian billionaire and Mining tycoon Harpal Randhawa, his 21 year old son Amer and four others were killed in a plane crash in Zimbabwe along with four others on Friday. According to media reports, their private flight crashed near a diamond mine in Southwestern Zimbabwe. The plane crashed in the Zvamahande area of Mashava, reported news media website, iHarare. The report further states that the crash happened due to a technical fault that might have led to mid-air explosion. Also Read: Titan submersible: Victims' families can still sue owner OceanGate, despite liability waivers Randhawa and his son were travelling in a Cessna 206 aircraft, privately owned by RioZim. As per PTI, the single-engined aircraft crashed near the Murowa Diamonds mine, which is partly owned by RioZim Zimbabwe journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who is also a friend of Randhawa posted in X that Randhawa's family has arranged for a memorial service on Wednesday in Zimbabwe. The family of Harpal Randhawa who died with his son Amer on Friday in a plane crash, respectfully invite all his friends and associates to celebrate his life and that of his son Amer at a memorial service at Raintree on Wednesday the 4th of October, 2023.Arrival time is 3PM.… pic.twitter.com/cWF0kPhe7G — Hopewell Chin’ono (@daddyhope) October 1, 2023 Meanwhile, the police are yet to release the names of the deceased. As per the Herald, the police have only confirmed that two Zimbabweans and four foreigners were killed in the crash. “The Zimbabwe Republic Police reports a plane crash which occurred on September 29 between 7.30 am and 8 am, where six people are confirmed dead,” police said. Harpal Randhawa's company RioZim also confirmed the plane crash said it was working with relevant authorities to gather more information. Harpal Randhawa Harpal Randhawa is the owner of of RioZim, a diversified mining company producing gold and coal as well as refining nickel and copper. RioZim partly owns the Murowa diamond mine in Zimbabwe. Harpal was also serving as the Chairman of GEM Holdings, founded by him in July 1993. GEM Holdings, a private equity firm, is now worth $4 billion. Meanwhile, his son Amer Randhawa is a trained pilot

  --------  

  0:34

  --------

  0:34
• Gold, Silver Rates today October 03, 2023: Check Prices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata

  Gold rate today slipped further and hit seven month low in both domestic and international markets on Tuesday. The average price of 1 gram of 22K Gold stood at ₹5,260 while the 24K gold prices stood at ₹5,738. The rate of 10 grams of 24K gold in Chennai stood at ₹57,710, which was followed by Delhi and Lucknow where the gold costs ₹57,380. The average price of 10gm of Silver was at ₹710 and 1 kg of silver stood at ₹71,000. However, in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kerala the metal was sold at ₹77,500, followed by Mumbai and Delhi where the metal was sold at ₹74,700 Indian Major Cities 24 Carat Gold Rate per 10gm Today October 03 Delhi - ₹57,530Chennai - ₹57,710Mumbai - ₹57,380Kolkata - ₹57,380Bengaluru - ₹57,380 Indian Major Cities 1 KG Silver Rate Today October 03 Delhi - ₹71,000Chennai - ₹73,500Mumbai - ₹71,000Kolkata - ₹71,000Bengaluru - ₹71,500

  --------  

  0:23

  --------

  0:23

More News podcasts

Trending News podcasts

About Business News - English

Business News - English: Podcasts in Family