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For years, a coalition of companies including Google, Amazon and Apple — the Connectivity Standards Alliance — has been trying to get Matter, the smart home networking protocol, off the ground. Unlike many of the standards that came before it (e.g. Zigbee, Z-Wave), Matter doesn’t require a proprietary hub and runs locally, making it more robust to interruptions like power and internet outages.
But it’s been rough going. READ MORE
Hertz, which has made a big push into electric vehicles in recent years, has decided it’s time to cut back. The company will sell off a third of its electric fleet, totaling roughly 20,000 vehicles, and use the money they bring to purchase more gasoline powered vehicles.
Electric vehicles have been hurting Hertz’s financials, executives have said, because, despite costing less to maintain, they have higher damage-repair costs and, also, higher depreciation. READ MORE
Tech companies showed quirky gadgets and new innovations at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas this week, from AI-powered pillows that can reduce snoring and mirrors that can detect your mood to transparent televisions and car mirrors that track your eyes.
Although the event, which is the largest consumer tech conference of the year, is known for robots roaming the show floor, splashy presentations and oddball products, it’s also a hotbed for dealmaking among executives, manufacturers and retailers across various industries. READ MORE
Despite a generally optimistic outlook for the U.S. markets in the new year, the head of one of the country’s biggest banks is seemingly not convinced the Federal Reserve can achieve a soft landing as a result of their most aggressive rate hike campaign since the 1980s.
During an exclusive interview on "Mornings with Maria" Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned about the possibility of a looming recession, while comparing the financial state to the turbulent period of 50 years ago when the nation endured a decade of high inflation. READ MORE
Elon Musk issued a warning to Boeing after they allegedly prioritized DEI hiring in recent years, as the Alaska Airlines incident made headlines this week.
In a X post on Wednesday, billionaire Musk asked if customers wanted to fly in an airplane made by a company that prioritizes DEI hiring over safety management.
"Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety?," Musk wrote. "That is actually happening." READ MORE
Businesses will soon find it harder to classify workers as independent contractors thanks to key changes made by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today. The Biden administration officially rescinded a rule that made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors under federal wage and hour rules. In its place, businesses will be forced to follow an outdated standard that will likely result in more workers being classified as employees. What do you need to know about the new rule before it takes effect on March 11? Read on for our five key takeaways. READ MORE
2023 was a year of layoffs. Over 305,000 U.S. workers were laid off over the year in a series of mass layoffs that started most notably with tech companies, but then spread across industries.
“Many businesses had to make tough decisions to reduce their headcounts, especially with the economic uncertainty of early 2023,” Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at Glassdoor, tells CNBC Make It. But with the mass layoffs came a drop in employee satisfaction and engagement, and increasing pressure put on middle managers, that Terrazas predicts will persist into 2024. READ MORE
The U.S. economy ended last year with the labor scars from the COVID-19 pandemic effectively healed and a quandary for Federal Reserve policymakers so far waiting in vain for wage and job growth to cool to a sustainable level.
The addition of 216,000 jobs to U.S. payrolls in December and wage growth of 4.1% both beat expectations, leaving the central bank still looking for clear signs of a slowing labor market and prompting traders in contracts tied to the benchmark federal funds rate to trim expectations the Fed will start cutting rates at its March meeting. READ MORE
A US-based startup has become the first company this year to lay off employees en masse. Proptech startup Frontdesk reportedly fired its entire 200-person workforce on Tuesday (2 January) on a virtual call.
Why did Frontdesk sack all of its employees? Let’s take a closer look. READ MORE
Between COVID-19 isolation and Great Resignation frustration, employers have learned more than ever the importance of helping marginalized segments of the workforce step into the light after years of working and living in the shadows.
While such outreach initially focused on race, gender, age, disability and sexual orientation as part of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the underlying aim is to ease economic hardship. This means addressing social determinants of health (SDoH) that serve as barriers to health equity. READ MORE
Desired results are relatively easy to identify. CEOs, executives, and leadership teams develop goals to increase efficiency, grow revenue, or expand the company’s operations. A spirited annual meeting frequently ends with aspirational objectives and encouraging words for attendees to take with them. A list of actions is drawn up and communicated to the company workforce.
But all too often, the actual results are disappointing. The following quarters show little to no sign of adjustment or improvement. Why is that? What happens between goal setting and outcome? READ MORE
More big firms are likely to go bust next year amid the “double whammy” of high borrowing costs and pressure on consumer budgets, according to insolvency experts.
Administrators and restructuring specialists also warned the PA news agency that high-growth companies such as tech firms could be among those facing financial turbulence.
It comes after another year of tough economic conditions resulted in increased business failures during the year. READ MORE
Welcome to the first business day of 2024.
You may be wondering what this new year has in store for your career — your pay, your benefits, your schedule and your job prospects.
To find out, we consulted with a number of workplace experts and consultants to get a sense of what trends and changes they expect. READ MORE
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is worth 71% less now than it was when Elon Musk bought it in late 2022, according to Fidelity.
The investment group made the valuation on Monday, the second time it dropped the value of X in 2023, Axios reports. Musk had purchased the social media giant for $44 billion. READ MORE
New data from SHRM found that only one in 100 HR pros completely trust their current performance review process to identify high achievers, and only one in 50 completely trust it to identify problem employees.
At the same time, a 2023 HR.com survey found that only 24% of respondents said their performance management process resulted in a high or very high impact on employee retention. Only 33% said their performance management process resulted in a high or very high impact on improving employee performance. READ MORE
Performance reviews are typically not the highlight of anyone’s to-do list. Throw in a flaky, shaky economy and a couple of rough quarters, and they’re even less appealing. You want your employees to come away motivated and enthusiastic about their work. But when business is slow, they also need a clear understanding of how they contribute to the company’s bottom line. READ MORE
Employee performance reviews are a critical aspect of talent development, providing organizations with insights into both individual and collective contributions to overall goals each year. However, the processes and technologies used for performance reviews have barely changed.
At the start of each year, employees commit to a list of objectives to accomplish. Then, at the end of the year, they’re prompted to reflect on their contributions—a process that's subjected to the limitations of human memory—give themselves a rating and then submit their assessment to managers for feedback and finalization. This model's reliance on old, often irrelevant data can suffer from issues like subjectivity, bias and limited engagement. READ MORE
Consumer confidence rose in December to the highest level in five months as sentiment on both the current and future situations improved markedly.
The data from the Conference Board released on Wednesday adds to a string of economic data in recent months that supports further sustained expansion in the economy.
The increase in confidence was broad-based in December, with the overall index rising to 110.7 from 101. READ MORE
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly addressed worker complacency in a recent all-hands meeting following complaints that some employees are simply coasting along while enjoying bumper paycheques.
According to insight shared with Business Insider by people in attendance, Huang acknowledged the growing issue of some long-tenured Nvidia employees not pulling their weight, a concern raised by colleagues who appear to have noted that some middle managers have entered a “semi-retirement” stage whereby they’re not putting in the work that’s worthy of their high salary. READ MORE
As the clock ticks closer to 2024, one outspoken economist is making a dire predication about the markets in the new year.
"Since 2009, this has been 100% artificial, unprecedented money printing and deficits; $27 trillion over 15 years, to be exact. This is off the charts, 100% artificial, which means we're in a dangerous state," Harry Dent told Fox News Digital. "I think 2024 is going to be the biggest single crash year we'll see in our lifetimes." READ MORE