New Boeing CEO Faces Hard Choices After NASA Snubs Starliner for SpaceX

After a humiliating setback to its space ambitions, Boeing Co. faces a dilemma that pits its national duty against strained cash reserves.

The decision about the future of the struggling Starliner program now rests with Boeing’s newly installed chief executive officer, Kelly Ortberg, after NASA announced over the weekend that it wouldn’t send astronauts home from the space station on the faulty spacecraft. Following weeks of testing and heated debate, the space agency decided it was safer to use Elon Musk’s SpaceX. READ MORE

US firms' 'low firing' approach may turn to more layoffs, Fed's Barkin tells BBG

The "low-hiring, low-firing" approach that U.S. businesses currently take to their employment decisions is unlikely to last, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said in newly released comments, citing the risk that firms could resort to layoffs if the economy weakens.

Concerns about the job market have intensified at the U.S. central bank in recent weeks and are a core reason for why Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech on Friday that interest rate cuts were needed to prevent any further and unwanted erosion in U.S. joblessness. READ MORE

The Summer Is So Hot, Workers Are Wearing High-Tech Ice Packs

In his 2021 novel “Termination Shock,” about a near-future Earth that is much warmer, science-fiction maestro Neal Stephenson imagined that in the hottest and most humid parts of the world—including Texas—people would don spacesuits, but for Earth, called “earthsuits.” 

That science-fiction future is, for millions of Americans, our present. Heat waves are more intense and longer thanks to climate change. For people who work outside in hotter regions or in broiling indoor spaces like large warehouses without air conditioning, heat injury, illness and even death are a growing concern. READ MORE

Harley-Davidson sunsets DEI programming following backlash

Harley-Davidson has “not operated a DEI function” since April 2024 and does not have one currently, the company revealed earlier this week. Harley-Davidson does not have hiring quotas and no longer has supplier diversity objectives, the company added in its Aug. 19 statement shared on X. HR Dive reached out for comment and did not hear back by the time of publication.

Reports of backlash against the motorcycle company surfaced in July.  READ MORE

Target CFO says GenAI tool is boosting worker efficiency

Target’s generative AI initiative is part of the retail giant’s broader effort to use the technology across its business to empower its workers, enhance the guest experience and support the company’s long-term growth, according to a June press release. 

During Wednesday’s call, Fiddelke said Target store leaders are now expecting the new tool to be “particularly helpful as we bring on new permanent and seasonal team members in advance of this year’s holiday season, helping them to become more productive, more quickly than in the past.” READ MORE

More than 28% of Americans are searching for new jobs — the highest rate in a decade

A new labor market survey shows Americans have rarely felt more in need of new job opportunities — an indication of a more negative outlook about the economy despite other data that suggests a more stable picture.

The New York Federal Reserve's latest poll of consumers found 28.4% of respondents were looking for a job — the highest reading since March 2014 and up from 19.4% a year ago. That includes both individuals already out of a job and ones currently employed but seeking new roles. READ MORE

Target slashed prices. It paid off

US consumers, strained by years of higher prices and elevated interest rates, are changing their shopping patterns. Americans are buying more at discount chains like Target and Walmart while dialing back spending at Macy’s and Lowe’s.

Target’s sales at stores open at least one year increased 2% last quarter, and its profit boomed 36%. The company’s stock (TGT) surged 13% in premarket trading. READ MORE

Why a majority of managers are ignoring return-to-office policies

According to ResumeBuilder, a quarter of U.S. companies plan to increase the number of days employees are required to be in the office next year, and managers will likely be key in ensuring that employees adhere to those boosted return-to-office policies. But will managers comply?

The answer is likely a resounding “no” if managers’ behavior is similar to what happened this year in the U.K. According to Owl Labs, which surveyed about 500 U.K. employees and managers this year, 70% of managers noted they allowed team members to work from home despite their organization’s formal return-to-office policy. READ MORE

Get ready for nasty layoffs and say goodbye to the 4-day workweek

It's a troubling thought, to be sure, but a longer workweek is already a reality for some workers. Greece has allowed some industries to move to a 48-hour workweek to bump productivity. And South Korean companies, such as Samsung, are telling some execs to also show up on Saturday or Sunday to help boost the company's business.

Now, with economic alarm bells going off in the US, some workers pining for less time on the job may have to keep dreaming. READ MORE

Corporate DEI isn’t dead. But what will it look like in 2025?

As the nation inches closer to this fall’s pivotal presidential election, the political climate appears to grow more divisive by the day. Central to the divides are topics connected to diversity, equity and inclusion—for instance, there was an “anti-woke” theme threaded throughout the recent Republican National Convention, while the Democratic Party is poised to nominate its first-ever woman of color for president, whom some Republicans have since called a “DEI hire.” READ MORE

How the world’s tech crashed all at once

When computers and tech systems around the world went down Friday, snarling airports, closing Social Security offices and limiting jail operations, many people had one question: How on earth could this happen in 2024?

A software update from a single cybersecurity company, US-based CrowdStrike, was the root cause of the chaos, underlining the fragility of the global economy and its dependence on computer systems to which relatively few people give a passing thought. READ MORE

BIGGEST IT OUTAGE IN HISTORY MICROSOFT CRASH WREAKS HAVOC WORLD PLUNGED INTO DARK AGES

A Microsoft global outage has wreaked havoc across America, locking countless individuals out of their bank accounts, causing hospital cancelations and even grounding flights.

The notorious Blue Screen of Death is popping up everywhere, from banks to supermarkets and media outlets, causing widespread panic and confusion. All United, Delta and American Airlines flights were grounded amid the chaos. READ MORE

China Is Remaking Itself Into a Tech Behemoth

Any discussion of the Chinese economy in the past few years is likely to have touched on its property sector implosion, the catastrophic loss of life following its “Covid zero” reopening, crackdowns on the tech sector and a general failure to launch. But amid all his struggles, President Xi Jinping has been pursuing a long-term plan to turbocharge China’s new engines of economic success—with an eye toward catching and surpassing the world’s tech behemoths. READ MORE