Business
A Top Delta Executive Is Leaving Weeks After The Airline’s Slow Response To Tech Outage
Delta Air Lines announced Friday that its chief operating officer will depart the company next week after a little more than a year in the airline industry to pursue other opportunities.
Michael Spanos’ exit comes just a few weeks after they canceled thousands of flights during a bungled recovery from a global technological breakdown.
Before joining the airline in June 2023, Spanos spent the majority of his career with PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group. He was also the CEO of amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment. He is one of three executive vice presidents at the Atlanta-based airline.
A Top Delta Executive Is Leaving Weeks After The Airline’s Slow Response To Tech Outage
Delta did not provide a reason for Spanos’ resignation in a regulatory filing, just stating that he would receive severance benefits under the company’s officer and director plan. Spanos received $8.6 million in remuneration last year, most of which came as stock awards.
CEO Ed Bastian stated in a memo to staff that Spanos informed him “earlier this summer” that he was considering quitting the airline. A spokesman stated that this occurred before the technical breakdown.
Bastian stated that Spanos will be moving to another company in September but did not specify which one. The CEO complimented Spanos on boosting Delta’s performance and stated that Delta would not appoint a new chief operating officer.
Chief operating officers often oversee a firm’s day-to-day operations and report directly to the CEO. They are frequently seen as the second-highest-ranking executive; however, at Delta, President Glen Hauenstein is widely regarded as fulfilling that role.
Delta was struck worse than any other US carrier by last month’s technology outage, which began with a failed upgrade from cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike to Microsoft Windows-based systems.
A Top Delta Executive Is Leaving Weeks After The Airline’s Slow Response To Tech Outage
Other airlines recovered within a few days, but the airline cancelled approximately 7,000 flights over a five-day period as it battled to redeploy staff and match them with aircraft.
The US Transportation Department is investigating the incident, and Delta is suing CrowdStrike and Microsoft for $500 million in damages. The tech businesses claim the airline rejected assistance and made false assertions.
SOURCE | AP
Business
Subsidies for Electric Vehicles Cut as Consumer Interest Fades
Pressure is building on Canada’s electric vehicle manufacturers, and several are rethinking their stance on E.V.s in favor of plug-in hybrids. Automobile manufacturers are now bracing themselves for an even more challenging era in the Canadian market for electric vehicles (E.V.s).
President Kristian Aquilina of General Motors Canada claims that support and expectations are misaligned because the Canadian government is reducing subsidies for electric vehicles while trying to phase out gas-powered cars.
Manufacturers find pushing for an all-electric future in Canada increasingly difficult due to fewer consumer financial incentives and increasingly strict sales targets.
With subsidies totaling up to C$12,000 (about $8,500), Canadian consumers may save a tonne of money on electric automobiles. The federal government offers a rebate of up to $5,000 Canadian, and the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia provide further incentives of up to $7,000 and $4,000, respectively.
Ontario, which eliminated rebates in 2018, had the lowest market share for electric vehicles compared to Quebec and British Columbia, two regions that offered bigger incentives and thereby drove E.V. adoption in Canada.
Although this backing is dwindling, the province of Quebec has now declared that all subsidies will end in 2027. In June, the British Columbia government restricted incentives to a smaller subset of E.V. purchasers for “available funding” and higher-than-expected E.V. sales growth.
These reductions indicate a larger pattern: provincial governments reevaluate the sustainability of taxpayer-financed incentives for E.V.s as budget deficits widen.
With lofty goals to cut pollution from gas-powered cars and increase sales of electric vehicles, the Canadian government has reduced subsidies for these vehicles. Electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles will be mandatory for all new light-duty vehicle sales in Canada by 2035.
To meet our intermediate goals, 20% of new sales must be electric vehicles (E.V.s) by 2026 and 60% by 2030. Car companies are already under a lot of pressure due to dwindling incentives and increasing demands, and the clock is ticking faster by the second.
In addition, these rules impose new forms of responsibility. Automakers that do not reach their provincial sales targets may be subject to financial fines imposed by provinces such as British Columbia.
Canadian manufacturers are already under financial pressure from federal compliance credit system standards, which they must meet or face deficits. This system gives them credit for electric vehicle sales and infrastructure improvements, but it’s not without its challenges.
“The timing is not necessarily lining up very well, in that the purchase incentive support comes off just as mandates and regulations start to bite,” GMC Canada President Kristian Aquilina told Bloomberg. “It must make a difference.
Therefore, we must consider that. Despite the cutbacks, Aquilina argued that the government’s investment in enhancing the charging infrastructure could benefit E.V. sales.
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Business
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows 3rd-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
Washington — Chewy shares fell about 2% overnight Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that Roaring Kitty, a meme stock trader, sold his interest in the online pet retailer.
According to a beneficial ownership document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Roaring Kitty, whose legal name is Keith Gill, sold all his Chewy shares, totaling 6.6% of the company.
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows Third-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
Plantation, Florida-based Chewy dropped 1.9% after hours to $26.19 per share.
Gill, an investor at the core of the meme stock craze, bought more than 9 million shares of Chewy in July, making him the company’s third-largest stakeholder.
Gill built a name for himself in 2021 by rallying ordinary investors around GameStop. At the time, the video game shop was fighting to stay in business, and major Wall Street hedge funds and investors were betting against it or shorting the stock. But Gill and those who agreed with him altered GameStop’s direction by purchasing thousands of shares despite practically all acknowledged criteria indicating that the firm was in deep peril.
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows Third-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
That triggered what is known as a “short squeeze,” in which large investors who had bet on GameStop were obliged to buy its swiftly increasing stock to offset significant losses.
Gill has expressed confidence in GameStop Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen’s ability to revamp the company following his success at Chewy. Cohen cofounded Chewy in 2011 and stepped down as CEO in 2018.
SOURCE | AP
Business
Canada CBC News CEO Catherine Tait Recalled to Parliamentary Committee
Canada CBC News reports that MPs have voted to recall CBC CEO Catherine Tait to a Commons committee for questioning, only a week after her last appearance, over the awarding of $18 million in bonuses to Canada CBC news executives.
The Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, and the NDP joined forces to re-invite Ms. Tait, her successor Marie-Philippe Bouchard, and Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to appear before the Commons Heritage Committee.
Ms. Tait, who will relinquish her position as CEO and president of CBC/Radio Canada in January, addressed the committee last week. The House of Commons has passed a motion recalling her before the conclusion of her term, and she is now subject to an additional two hours of interrogation, which includes inquiries regarding bonuses.
MPs also resolved to summon Quebec broadcasting executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard, appointed as the new chief of CBC/Radio-Canada last week, to appear before she begins her new job following a House of Commons chamber debate.
Catherine Tait Exit Package
Catherine Tait rejected the Conservatives’ requests to deny an exit package, including bonuses, when she departed the position in January during last week’s committee hearing.
She also defended the award of $18.4 million in incentives to 1,194 staff members for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which concluded in March, following the broadcaster’s achievement of performance indicators.
Kevin Waugh, a Conservative committee member who introduced the motion, stated that his party aimed to ensure Ms. Tait was “accountable to taxpayers” before her departure in January.
He informed The Globe and Mail that “Canadians are dissatisfied with the bonuses” and that Catherine Tait‘s exit package, which will not be disclosed, is a cause for concern.
“I am apprehensive that she has not received her bonuses in over two years, and that the Minister of Heritage or Privy Council will lavish her with bonuses when she departs in January,” he stated.
The Liberals opposed a portion of the motion that claimed that “the Liberal threat to cut funding” had resulted in the elimination of hundreds of jobs at CBC/Radio-Canada.
Defunding CBC News Canada
The Heritage Minister informed The Globe that the claim was “hypocritical,” as the Conservatives intended to completely defund CBC.
“The Conservatives’ actions today are a clear example of hypocrisy.” Ms. St-Onge stated that performance bonuses increased by 65% during the Harper Conservatives’ tenure, while CBC News Atlantic Canada experienced substantial budget cutbacks.
“As a government, we do not require any lessons from a party that has pledged to reduce the funding of CBC/Radio-Canada and the 8,000 jobs associated with it during its campaign.”
During the Tuesday debate, NDP MP Niki Ashton stated that her party endorses the “banning of executive bonuses” at CBC News Atlantic Canada but is opposed to “the Conservatives’ full frontal attack” on the broadcaster.
She stated, “We require a robust public broadcaster, but not one that distributes executive bonuses and eliminates positions.”
If the Conservatives establish the next government, they intend to deprive the CBC of public funding while maintaining French services.
Catherine Tait defended CBC and rebuffed MPs’ assaults during last week’s committee hearing. “It is evident that the members of this committee are making a concerted effort to discredit the organization and vilify me,” she stated.
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