DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Gary Vaynerchuk compares the rise of AI like ChatGPT to the way the internet revolutionized work: 'AI is coming for our jobs and that's ok'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Gary Vaynerchuk predicts that AI software like ChatGPT will eliminate many jobs. He's optimistic about workers' ability to rally and adapt to AI, or create new roles. That's been true to an extent about previous types of automation, but AI looks likely to impact a broader demographic of workers. Like Vaynerchuk points out, there's some reason to be optimistic long-term about the job shake ups technology can cause. But Vaynerchuk is more convinced that AI represents the status quo for automation.

☆ Walmart execs say own-brand sales are growing as customers cut spending, and suggest that other brands could put their prices down to compete
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

More shoppers are buying private-label brands at Walmart amid economic uncertainty, execs say. CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC that by keeping prices low, Walmart could push other brands to drop their prices too. "But there is definitely some acceleration to private brands in the last 90 days." In response, Walmart is focusing on its value proposition and making sure it has high-quality private brands, he said. McMillon told CNBC that by keeping its prices low, Walmart could push other brands to drop their prices.

☆ Morning Bid: Not if or when but how fast?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachA look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman Daga:Is it really good news? Probably yes, probably not. Fed funds futures traders are now pricing for the Fed's benchmark overnight interest rate to reach 5.36% in July and end the year at 5.18%. Asian stock markets floated in a sea of red on Wednesday following an ugly sell-off on Wall Street. Inflation data from Germany and Italy due later on Wednesday will offer clues on price pressures.

☆ Management consulting firm McKinsey & Co plans to cut 2,000 jobs after adding 17,000 over the past 5 years: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The consulting firm is looking to get rid of jobs that do not deal with clients. Financial Times and Bloomberg reported that over the past five years, McKinsey added 17,000 employees. The source also told the Financial Times that the legal and compliance teams would not be affected. McKinsey & Co., one of the "Big Three" consulting firms in the US, is one of the most sought-after consulting jobs in the country. In 2018, McKinsey told Insider the firm received 800,000 applications, with only 8,000 people receiving offers.

☆ McKinsey plans to cut 2,000 jobs in one of its biggest layoffs, Bloomberg News reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Consulting giant McKinsey & Co is planning to cut about 2,000 jobs, in one of its biggest round of layoffs, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. McKinsey did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Bloomberg report said the layoffs are a part of Project Magnolia, which the consulting firm hopes will help preserve the compensation pool of its partners. It added that McKinsey is looking to restructure how it organizes its support teams to centralize some of the roles. Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ McKinsey Intends to Eliminate as Many as 2,000 Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Kathryn Hardison | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The cuts would be one of the company’s biggest headcount reductions to date. McKinsey & Co. plans to eliminate thousands of positions, adding the consulting giant to a wave of companies that are cutting corporate jobs. The firm, which is known for helping companies streamline their operations, could shed as many as 2,000 jobs in what would be one of its biggest headcount reductions to date, according to a person familiar with the matter.

☆ 'It's a huge concern': Senior-level women are calling it quits after decades climbing the career ladder
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Some of the world's most powerful women are calling it quits. To give some context, for every woman stepping into a director-level leadership role, two are choosing to leave, says Alexis Krivkovich, McKinsey senior partner and an author of the joint Lean In and McKinsey "Women in the Workplace" report. The pattern has the potential to unwind decades of progress toward gender equity and increased female leadership in the workplace, she tells CNBC Make It. "They're meeting their goals and being successful, and some are choosing to leave before they get burned out," Workman adds. The problem remains that there are too few women in high levels of leadership, Krivkovich says: "Lots of men leave their positions, but we analyze and scrutinize when women leaders do in a different way.

☆ As accomplished, high-profile female leaders step back from their careers, I wonder whether any woman can have it all
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I don't fault them; they're women who achieved much and then, it appears, made the best decision for themselves. Women face bias when they're leaders. McKinsey & Company recently said it found that "compared with men, senior women leaders report higher rates of burnout, chronic stress, and exhaustion." A report last year from LeanIn.org and McKinsey said women leaders were leaving their companies at the highest rate ever; the organizations started tracking the data in 2015. "You're not promoting enough women into the leadership ranks, and now you have more women leaving leadership roles," Thomas told CNBC Make It in October.

☆ Embraer's electric aircraft maker Eve 'on track' to start service in 2026
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Electric aircraft maker Eve Holding Inc (EVEX.N) is "on track" to meet its goal of starting commercial operations in 2026, an executive said on Friday, and getting its aircraft certificated is the most immediate target. Eve is confident about the "robust project," which is backed by Embraer's expertise, said Mauad, reiterating the goal of starting operations in 2026. BNDES later announced it would grant Eve an additional 490 million reais ($94.47 million). Mauad acknowledged a consolidation process could happen in the sector, but noted Eve was still particularly focused on working through its partnerships. ($1 = 5.1871 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ VC firm Counteract just reached first close on its $42 million carbon removal fund. We got an exclusive look at the 11-slide LP deck it used to secure cash from The Grantham Foundation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VC firm Counteract has reached first close on its inaugural £35 million fund. It plans to back 40 global companies across all elements of carbon removal. London-based firm Counteract, founded in 2021, has just reached first close on its inaugural £35 million, about $41.9 million, fund. Direct air capture is one of the best-known carbon removal technologies thanks to Swiss company Climeworks. Isaacs stressed the importance of exploring all potential technologies as carbon removal evolves alongside policy, making it inherently risky.

☆ HBCU students diversify alternative investing with the help of Wall Street’s biggest firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Frank Holland | In Frank-Holland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The AltFinance Fellowship is the brainchild of top alternative investment firms Ares Management, Apollo Global Management and Oaktree Capital Management. Selected students will also receive a scholarship of up to $10,000 if they're sophomores, while juniors and seniors can receive up to $15,000. Partnering schools include Clark Atlanta University, Howard University, Morehouse College and Spelman College. The private equity, private credit and commercial real estate industry has about $10 trillion in assets under management, according to data provider Preqin. "This is not a charitable activity," Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, told CNBC.

☆ A proptech startup used this pitch deck to raise $5.1 million to build a LinkedIn for construction workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Contractors are challenged in hiring skilled workers. Skillit, founded in 2021, offers a platform specifically for recruiting skilled labor. The company's CEO walked Insider through a pitch deck used to raise $5.1 million in seed funding. What's more, many skilled workers are getting ready to retire. The company's first product focuses on recruiting craft workers, or construction workers who hone their skills in trade schools and apprenticeships.

☆ Some FedEx employees say layoffs are wrecking morale and chipping away at the famous loyalty that Fred Smith built
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Some insiders see the layoffs as a failure of leadership and fear a lasting shift in FedEx culture. But now, some also question if the company Smith built is changing for good. "The erosion just kept happening," said one former FedEx who left the company in the last year. Inside the company, employees are doing the back-of-the-envelope calculations on the cuts still to come — Subramaniam promised $4 billion and cuts this fiscal year. "There is still that emphasis that people are first at FedEx," said a 15-year FedEx veteran who left last year.

☆ Biden wants EV chargers on every 50 miles of highway. That misses a key piece of the electrification puzzle.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But to boost EV adoption, not all chargers need to be on highways, experts say. The goal is to put 500,000 public EV chargers on US roads by 2030, up from about 130,000 currently. EV chargers need to meet people where they're at. Studies suggest that a lack of reliable and functional EV charging is one of the biggest factors standing in the way of consumer EV adoption. Of note, however, is that a majority of EV charging can technically be done at home.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHow layoffs will impact DEI pledges: McKinsey's Shelley StewartMcKinsey senior partner Shelley Stewart worries that an economic downturn may impact diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. He tells CNBC's Sharon Epperson how companies can mitigate high attrition rates in frontline jobs and reflects on how DEI pledges have evolved since 2020.

Businesses need to remain diligent in their diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts as layoffs continue, according to McKinsey senior partner Shelley Stewart. Stewart told CNBC that Black Americans have historically been disproportionately affected during economic downturns. Because Black workers are underrepresented in the tech industry, he said, they may not be hit disproportionately in that sector. Stewart encourages companies to continue their DEI efforts by working with diverse suppliers, saying partnering with diverse businesses is "the biggest lever that corporations have to directly impact society other than wages." "Inclusive growth is better for companies, better for society, better for our global economy and our domestic economy," he said.

☆ The 8 leading biotechs using AI to upend how drugs are discovered
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A few biotech companies have used AI to develop drugs that are already being tested in people. Insider found eight AI biotechs now in the clinic, a critical stage in drug development. Some of the fastest progress has been in using AI to improve the process of creating medicines. At the start of 2020, AI-focused biotechs had zero drugs in the clinic, according to Air Street Capital. Here are the eight biotechs using AI to develop better drugs, in order of how many drugs they have in human testing.

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The two investment obsessions of the year so far - artificial intelligence and super-tight labour markets - meet head on. Far from relaxing, should office or home-based workers now fret that we're in for anything but a tight jobs market over the coming years? Morgan Stanley's thematic research team said this week it was inundated with enquiries about generative AI during its recent client visits. Much like the pandemic, fear of automation could have as big an economic impact as its actual spread. US jobs growth by sectorMcKinsey chart on automation worldwideFathom chart on US vs China AIThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

☆ A subsidy arms race is kicking off between Europe and America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This premium is expected to shrink as clean energy technologies become more advanced and infrastructure to produce them is scaled up. Most of the money the IRA has earmarked for clean energy initiatives comes in the form of tax credits. In the meantime, government officials are lobbying the United States to rethink parts of the IRA. “Europe and other allied countries have nothing to fear from the Inflation Reduction Act and quite a bit to gain,” said Brian Deese, Biden’s top economic adviser. The fight over green subsidies also comes as geopolitical tensions are pushing countries to focus on greater localization of production — not just for green energy, but also for sensitive technologies like computer chips.

☆ 34-year-old's startup, worth $1.5 billion and backed by Google, wants to make tutoring free for kids everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As college prep season starts, some high schoolers — or their parents — are probably thinking about hiring private tutors to help boost their SAT scores. It makes a difference: Research shows that private tutoring can help improve SAT scores by roughly 37 points, which can make a difference on college applications. The 34-year-old is the CEO and founder of Paper, a Montreal-based virtual learning platform he launched in 2014 to try making private tutoring more financially accessible. He quickly learned that wealthier students often performed better in school, even before they hired private tutors. Over the last five years, the startup has made some of its biggest strides in "large, urban districts," Cutler says.

☆ Maintaing diversity in tech: Firms continues Atlanta investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Frank Holland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMaintaing diversity in tech: Firms continues Atlanta investmentsVisa says it is still hiring and remains focused on hiring Black workers and partnering with Black startups at its new Atlanta office. 27% of Atlanta's tech workers are Black compared to 2% in the Bay Area and 3% in Austin according to CBRE. 2023 could be a major turning point for diversity in tech according to a new report this week from McKinsey. If the Black tech gap isn't closed there will be $360B in lost wages and the underrepresentation will grow. Frank Holland looks at the data, the companies emphasizing diversity, and speaks with Visa's Chief Diversity Officer about the importance of the Atlanta Office.

☆ Mobility study cites roadblocks for U.S. electric vehicles, sustainable aviation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Among those roadblocks, a looming shortage of battery raw materials could put government mandates “in conflict with manufacturing reality” — one of the macro trends charted in the 2023 Moving World Report, published by investment firm UP.Partners. Obstacles to the acceleration of EV production and demand in the United States include ongoing turmoil in global supply chains, insufficient vehicle charging infrastructure and an overloaded electrical grid, the 120-page report said. The study is based on dozens of interviews and cites technical and financial data from research studies by the International Energy Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, McKinsey, Silicon Valley Bank, Carnegie Mellon University and others. While aviation companies continue to pursue alternative technologies from batteries to hydrogen, Managing Partner Cyrus Sigari said that sustainable aviation fuel is “the only rational pathway” to reducing aviation carbon emissions over the next 20 years. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 7 ways to use ChatGPT at work to boost your productivity, make your job easier, and save a ton of time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

With its impressive functions, the buzzy AI chatbot could give some workers a "productivity boost." Insider compiled a list of seven ways workers can use the AI tool to help do their jobs. But they can help workers across many industries – from tech to media – do their jobs better and more quickly. Workers should be careful when using AI tools, as the tech can be prone to misinformation, and it can remove the human touch from tasks like writing. Here's how you can use ChatGPT and AI to help make your work life easier.

☆ Electric semi-trucks are ready to be deployed, but there aren't near enough plugs to charge them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Bianca Giacobone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Truck manufacturer Daimler has a production capacity of around 2000 electric semi-trucks per year. Lack of charging infrastructure is slowing down adoption across the industry. Sure, the batteries are a bit heavier than truckers might like, but that's not what's slowing down the deployment of electric semi-trucks on US streets. But there are only around 100 electric trucks out on the streets. The majority of electric passenger vehicles charging stations have fast charging at around 150 kilowatt.

☆ I've been renting all my clothes for over a year. Here's what I love about it — and what everyone should know before trying it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

I've been renting all my clothes since late 2021 through Nuuly, an online-rental marketplace. It's helped me cut back on shopping, stop buying fast fashion, and focus on quality over quantity. As for me, I'm still hooked on renting over a year later, and I would recommend it to anyone who's thinking about trying it. But I've also uncovered some downsides that have made me rethink everything I thought I knew about clothes. Pro: Renting has made me more thoughtful about qualityPerhaps the biggest endorsement for renting all my clothes is the effect it's had on my mindset.

Search resuls for: "MCKINSEY"

25 mentions found