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☆ Unionized Apple store workers want you to start tipping them
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Workers at Apple's first unionized store in suburban Baltimore are pushing for a tipping system. Employees at Apple's first unionized store in Towson, Maryland are pushing for a contract that includes the introduction of tipping. The proposed system would allow customers to tip store workers in increments of 3%, 5%, or a customized amount for in-store credit card transactions. In October, an Apple store in Oklahoma City became the second to vote to unionize, though its negotiations with management haven't begun yet. In April, a union representative for Apple workers in Towson told The Baltimore Banner that contract discussions have been "very, very slow."

☆ Americans Wary of Big Brother AI Watching in the Workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. respondents to a Pew Research Center survey said they were largely opposed to using artificial intelligence to monitor them at work. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg NewsAmericans are largely leery of artificial intelligence peering over their shoulder at the workplace to watch for bad behavior, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center, though only a fraction think AI will have a major impact on them personally. AI has been used for years in technologies that can monitor what employees do at work, including surveillance systems that can try to see if retail employees are stealing, software that scrutinizes truck drivers for bad behavior, and plug-ins for email and chat applications that can flag foul language or fraud in offices.

☆ Google's AI chatbot Bard is still being rushed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google contractors say they don't have enough time to verify correct answers from the company's AI chatbot, Bard. Bard got off to a less-than-ideal start when it gave an incorrect answer at Google's launch event earlier this year. Some of the contractors told Insider that they just aren't given enough time to corroborate and check the most accurate answer. Google CEO said he sticks to fun and creative questions with Google's Bard AI chatbot. Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, told The New York Times that he learned through trial and error what type of questions to ask Google's AI chatbot.

☆ Apple tells some corporate retail employees to reapply for their jobs or they will be laid off
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Apple has told teams that maintain its corporate retail group that they must apply for new roles. It signals another cost-cutting measure by Apple, which has so far stopped short of broad layoffs. Apple is cutting roles within its corporate retail division, telling staff they must reapply for jobs within the company or else they will be let go. Employees in Apple's Development and Preservation teams, which handle construction and maintenance of the company's retail stores, were told they must reapply for roles, according to a person familiar with the matter. Apple has so far stopped short of the layoffs, unlike Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon where tens of thousands of staff have so far been cut.

☆ Nordstrom will cut about 2,500 jobs as layoffs creep into the retail world. Here's the full list of major retailers that have laid off workers in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Layoffs have started trickling into the retail sector, primarily impacting corporate employees. Still, few retailers are laying off store employees as the "labor hoarding" trend continues in 2023. Since the start of 2023, major retailers ranging from department stores to direct-to-consumer brands have cut staff, the latest swing in a sector that's been hit hard by labor challenges and inflation. Brian Ach/Invision for The RealReal/AP ImagesThe RealReal: The luxury consignment company cut 230 employees, about 7% of its workforce. Lidl: Around 200 US-based corporate employees were let go from the German grocery chain.

☆ Neiman Marcus and The RealReal are the latest to cut jobs as layoffs creep into the retail world. Here's the full list of major retailers that have laid off workers in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Still, few retailers are laying off store employees as the "labor hoarding" trend continues in 2023. Since the start of 2023, major retailers ranging from department stores to direct-to-consumer brands have cut staff, the latest swing in a sector that's been hit hard by labor challenges and inflation. Most of the cuts so far have impacted corporate retail employees. At a store level, many retailers are actually holding tighter to workers than usual, even seasonal employees, in a practice economists call "labor hoarding." Here are the retailers who have announced layoffs in 2023:The RealReal, founded in 2011, sells secondhand luxury clothing.

☆ ‘De-Influencers’ Want You to Think Twice Before Buying That Mascara
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Sara Ashley O'Brien | Lane Florsheim | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After years of influencers pushing cosmetics, clothes, personal tech and supplements to the masses, a rising cohort is taking a different tack: telling people what not to buy. They’re calling it “de-influencing.”The term is being popularized in videos by people whose experience runs the gamut: disappointed consumers, savvy beauty bloggers, doctors dispelling skin-care myths and former retail employees dishing on which products they saw returned most often. Their shared guidance is a rejoinder to a seemingly endless stream of recommendations and promotional content on the platform—and a sign of growing backlash to overconsumption. TikTok videos under the hashtag #deinfluencing have surpassed 68 million views.

☆ Here are the layoff severance packages Google, Microsoft, Amazon and other tech giants have promised
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Laid-off employees would also have "at least" 16 weeks of share vesting accelerated, Pichai said in a memo to employees. Benefit-eligible U.S. employees are to receive severance, six months of healthcare and stock vesting, and 60 days of notice, Nadella wrote. Human resources head Beth Galetti said the company will offer a separation payment, health benefits as applicable by country and job placement. This matters to Amazon employees, as the company's compensation has historically been weighted heavily to stock. Benioff's letter to employees also said that laid-off employees would receive health insurance benefits and career resources for an unclear duration.

Morphe Cosmetics, a makeup brand once synonymous with YouTube beauty culture, confirmed Thursday it was shutting down all its U.S. stores — a move that shocked its employees, outraged customers and left some experts questioning the brand’s future. Morphe employees sounded alarm for weeksSome of Morphe's retail employees said it was shocking that the company had laid them off so abruptly — with several employees telling NBC News that they received a day’s notice before losing their jobs. TikToks under the hashtag #justiceformorpheretailemployees have received more than 7.5 million views, although some viral videos about the store closures have been deleted. As of Friday, Morphe employees who spoke with NBC News said they hadn’t received their severance packets yet. The store closures indicate that sales were continuing to flail, Ben-Shabat said.

☆ Apple's Australian workers go on Christmas strike demanding better wages, work terms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) workers in Australia initiated a strike Friday afternoon, demanding better working conditions and wages, a workers' union said, a move that might dent sales of the tech giant during the peak Christmas shopping time. Workers represented by Australia's Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) had earlier this month announced a walk out from Apple's retail outlets nationwide at 3 PM local time (0400 GMT) on Dec. 23, with plans to stay away throughout Christmas Eve. Earlier in June, Apple workers in Maryland, United States, became the first retail employees of the tech giant to unionize in the country as workers continued to criticize the company's working conditions. RAFFWU, which is at the forefront of the strike, claims an eight-year old agreement denies workers "weekends, consecutive days off, set rosters, set days of work, 12-hour breaks between shifts, overtime rates," among others. "The 2014 agreement is one such agreement which pushed workers below the legal minimum," the union alleged, demanding the iPhone maker immediately return to the table and negotiate a fair agreement.

☆ Organized retail crime has ballooned into a $100 billion problem — and store employees are dying over it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Organized retail crime increased by 26.5% in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation. It's organized retail crime, and it's a nearly $100 billion problem for the industry. A 2022 study the National Retail Federation conducted found that organized retail crime at retailers surged by 26.5% in 2021 compared to the year prior. Organized retail crime is not the $10,000 jewelry heist you see in the movies, Jake Stauch, the director of product for the security company Verkada, said. The rise of e-commerce has, in large part, fueled organized retail crime.

☆ Apple workers in Australia plan Christmas strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies About 200 Apple workers to strike ahead of Christmas weekendStriking workers asking for better work conditions, wagesIndustrial action comes at peak time for Apple salesSYDNEY, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Apple workers in Australia are preparing to go on a strike ahead of Christmas to demand better working conditions and wages, union leaders and staff said, a move likely to hurt the iPhone maker's sales and services in the country. read moreMembers of Australia's Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) are asking Apple Inc (AAPL.O) for fixed rosters, known hours of work, weekends of two consecutive days and an agreed annual wage rise. Striking workers would walk out of Apple's retail outlets at 3 p.m. (0400 GMT) on Dec. 23 and stay away throughout Christmas Eve, usually a peak time for sales of Apple iPhones, watches and other products. In June this year Apple workers in Maryland became the first retail employees of the tech giant to unionise in the United States. Apple workers staged a full day strike in October and also a one-hour walkout later that month.

☆ Leaked email reveals Tesla-wannabe Lucid is worried over canceled orders — and will call customers up to 14 times to ask them not to ditch their six-figure EV
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"Every cancellation is a failure," read an email sent to Lucid retail employees. If they don't reach the customer, they must try calling again three more times on consecutive days. After that, the case goes to a regional manager, who must try calling the customer within 24 hours, then try calling again three more times on consecutive days. Are you a current or former Lucid employee? Do you own a Lucid vehicle or hold a Lucid order reservation?

☆ Apple prepares to source chips from Arizona plant - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is preparing to begin sourcing chips for its devices from a plant under construction in Arizona in the United States, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Cook was likely referring to an Arizona factory that will be run by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple. Earlier this month, TSMC also said it was constructing a building that could serve as its second chip factory in Arizona. read moreThe United States has been encouraging foreign tech firms to manufacture in the country and has actively supported local research, development and manufacturing after passing its CHIPS Act. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Employees took advantage of the Great Resignation. Now employers are about to take revenge.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Jake Rosenfeld | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The 2008 financial crisis spared no one — income gains halted for nearly everybody as the economy plunged into the worst recession in almost a century. A tight labor market is good for workersThe main culprit behind these gains in worker power has been the tight labor market. A tight labor market also means companies have to offer higher wages to attract new employees or get people to switch jobs. And the iconic coffee maker isn't the only big-name corporation to raise pay in the face of rising worker unrest. So without a contract to lock in economic gains, workers may have won a series of battles, but they risk losing the long-term war.

☆ IKEA lets around 10,000 staff go in Russia -AFP
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Oct 13 (Reuters) - IKEA has now let go around 10,000 employees in Russia as it makes its exit from the country, the French news agency AFP quoted the company as saying on Thursday, as the Swedish furniture giant reported record annual sales. IKEA, the world's biggest furniture brand, shut down its Russian stores in March and said it would sell factories, close offices and reduce its 15,000-strong workforce in Russia. The company had said it would continue to pay staff until the end of August. Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka group, owner of IKEA's stores, told AFP that it had had to lay off around 10,000 of its 12,000 retail employees in Russia. Brodin said Ingka had not yet decided whether to sell the IKEA stores in Russia.

☆ Brandy Melville employees describe racism, Hitler memes, and sexual exploitation at the 'evil' cult teen brand
▼ + stars: | 2021-09-07 | by ( Kate Taylor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +34 min

According to Brandy Melville employees, CEO Stephan Marsan wants his staffers to be young, thin, pretty, and white. But to secure their spot in the world of Brandy Melville, employees at all levels said they had to endure — and often enforce — Marsan's beliefs. Hollis Johnson/InsiderIn late September 2017, Stephenie Legros, who is Black, was nearing her first anniversary as a Brandy Melville employee. Brandy Melville USA/InstagramSeveral former employees mentioned the behavior of Longo, the brand's top executive alongside Marsan while Brandy Melville gained footing in the US. Brandy Melville USA/Instagram"Every year that goes by, the beauty standard is shifting a little bit," a Black woman who worked at Brandy Melville from 2016 to 2019 said.

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