Wed, April 24, 2024 at 9:35 AM EDT
Business
Ontario Amazon whistleblower says company didn’t disclose coronavirus case to all – Global News
An Amazon warehouse employee in Brampton, Ont., says the company failed to tell all employees that a worker at the facility was infected with coronavirus.
“It’s COVID-19, it’s must-know knowledge. You have to tell your employees if there’s a case,” the man said.
Global News agreed not to identify the employee because he said he’s certain he would be terminated if Amazon knew he had gone public with his concerns.
“You’d lose your job for sure,” the veteran Amazon employee said, noting he is not a manager or supervisor with the company.
A senior Amazon vice president in the United States resigned last week in support of whistleblowers who have been fired by the company after calling attention to safety complaints at Amazon facilities.
The company defended the termination of user experience designers who criticized Amazon’s treatment of warehouse workers. Amazon said the two employees were terminated for “repeatedly violating internal policies.”
In Brampton, Amazon didn’t announce the news of the new COVID-19 case to everyone, the warehouse employee who contacted Global News said. He said the information was shared with him by a fellow employee who had received a text message from the company.
“He asked me, ‘Did you get the message?’ I said, ‘What message?’” the man recalled.
The employee said he found out about the COVID-19 case at the Amazon facility north of Toronto partway through his 10-hour shift on Friday. He has not returned to work since, citing concern for his safety and his family’s.
The text message shared with Global News read in part, “We want to let you know about a confirmed case of COVID-19 at YYZ4. The affected individual was last on site at 4/28.”
[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]
YYZ4 refers to the Brampton facility where the employee works. The message was received three days after the employee who tested positive for the virus last worked at the plant.
Amazon confirmed the diagnosis of an employee at its facility and said it was “supporting the individual who is recovering.”
In a written statement, Amazon spokesperson Timothy Carter said the company is “taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site.”
The company claimed it makes employees at a site aware of confirmed cases. The employee who came forward insisted he and other employees were not told.
“It’s COVID-19: it’s a life and death situation,” the employee told Global News.
He said he lives with elderly parents, who are not in good health, and is worried about transmitting the virus to them.
“A lot of people are surprised they haven’t shut down the building,” the employee said.
Upon finding out about the COVID-19 case when he arrived at work, he went home early. He said he would not have gone to work that day had he been advised about the case.
The employee said Amazon communicates with him through texting messaging and email frequently to offer overtime shifts, for example. He said he received no message or email to announce the COVID-19 case.
“A lot of people were angry” when they found out the case from others, not the company itself, the man said.
On the same day that the COVID-19 case was revealed to certain employees, he said Amazon reinstated its employee “points” system.
The Amazon points system penalizes employees based on lateness, absences and other reasons. If someone acquires six points in a short period of time, the employee is asked to explain the reasons, or is terminated, he said.
But from mid-March until the end of April, the employee said Amazon had suspended the management system, giving more flexibility to deal with personal issues like child care.
However, the employee said workers were informed by email that the program would be back in effect.
“While I’m staying home, I’m being pointed by the attendance policy,” as well as not being paid, the man said.
Global News asked Amazon why it restarted its points program in the midst of the pandemic, but the company did not respond to the question.
According to the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 information page, employees have “the right to know … the right to refuse dangerous work.”
“It should normally be sufficient for health and safety purposes to state that an (unnamed) person was in the workplace and that the person was infected.”
The Amazon employee who spoke to Global News said he hopes the company is more transparent if there are future cases.
“You advertise and tell people you’re one of the safest companies to work for … and then it’s not communicated,” he said.
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Continue Reading
Business
Oil Firms Doubtful Trans Mountain Pipeline Will Start Full Service by May 1st
|
Oil companies planning to ship crude on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline in Canada are concerned that the project may not begin full service on May 1 but they would be nevertheless obligated to pay tolls from that date.
In a letter to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), Suncor Energy and other shippers including BP and Marathon Petroleum have expressed doubts that Trans Mountain will start full service on May 1, as previously communicated, Reuters reports.
Trans Mountain Corporation, the government-owned entity that completed the pipeline construction, told Reuters in an email that line fill on the expanded pipeline would be completed in early May.
After a series of delays, cost overruns, and legal challenges, the expanded Trans Mountain oil pipeline will open for business on May 1, the company said early this month.
“The Commencement Date for commercial operation of the expanded system will be May 1, 2024. Trans Mountain anticipates providing service for all contracted volumes in the month of May,” Trans Mountain Corporation said in early April.
The expanded pipeline will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.
The Federal Government of Canada bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) from Kinder Morgan back in 2018, together with related pipeline and terminal assets. That cost the federal government $3.3 billion (C$4.5 billion) at the time. Since then, the costs for the expansion of the pipeline have quadrupled to nearly $23 billion (C$30.9 billion).
The expansion project has faced continuous delays over the years. In one of the latest roadblocks in December, the Canadian regulator denied a variance request from the project developer to move a small section of the pipeline due to challenging drilling conditions.
The company asked the regulator to reconsider its decision, and received on January 12 a conditional approval, avoiding what could have been another two-year delay to start-up.
Business
Tesla profits cut in half as demand falls
|
Tesla profits slump by more than a half
Tesla has announced its profits fell sharply in the first three months of the year to $1.13bn (£910m), compared with $2.51bn in 2023.
It caps a difficult period for the electric vehicle (EV) maker, which – faced with falling sales – has announced thousands of job cuts.
Boss Elon Musk remains bullish about its prospects, telling investors the launch of new models would be brought forward.
Its share price has risen but analysts say it continues to face significant challenges, including from lower-cost rivals.
The company has suffered from falling demand and competition from cheaper Chinese imports which has led its stock price to collapse by 43% over 2024.
Figures for the first quarter of 2024 revealed revenues of $21.3bn, down on analysts’ predictions of just over $22bn.
But the decision by Tesla to bring forward the launch of new models from the second half of 2025 boosted its shares by nearly 12.5% in after-hours trading.
It did not reveal pricing details for the new vehicles.
However Mr Musk made clear he also grander ambitions, touting Tesla’s AI credentials and plans for self-driving vehicles – even going as far as to say considering it to be just a car company was the “wrong framework.”
“If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy I think they should not be an investor,” he said.
Such sentiments have been questioned by analysts though, with Deutsche Bank saying driverless cars face “technological, regulatory and operational challenges.”
Some investors have called for the company to instead focus on releasing a lower price, mass-market EV.
However, Tesla has already been on a charm offensive, trying to win over new customers by dropping its prices in a series of markets in the face of falling sales.
It also said its situation was not unique.
“Global EV sales continue to be under pressure as many carmakers prioritize hybrids over EVs,” it said.
Despite plans to bring forward new models originally planned for next year the firm is cutting its workforce.
Tesla said it would lose 3,332 jobs in California and 2,688 positions in Texas, starting mid-June.
The cuts in Texas represent 12% of Tesla’s total workforce of almost 23,000 in the area where its gigafactory and headquarters are located.
However, Mr Musk sought to downplay the move.
“Tesla has now created over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in California!” he said in a post on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
Another 285 jobs will be lost in New York.
Tesla’s total workforce stood at more than 140,000 late last year, up from around 100,000 at the end of 2021, according to the company’s filings with US regulators.
Musk’s salary
The car firm is also facing other issues, with a struggle over Mr Musk’s compensation still raging on.
On Wednesday, Tesla asked shareholders to vote for a proposal to accept Mr Musk’s compensation package – once valued at $56bn – which had been rejected by a Delaware judge.
The judge found Tesla’s directors had breached their fiduciary duty to the firm by awarding Mr Musk the pay-out.
Due to the fall in Tesla’s stock value, the compensation package is now estimated to be around $10bn less – but still greater than the GDP of many countries.
In addition, Tesla wants its shareholders to agree to the firm being moved from Delaware to Texas – which Mr Musk called for after the judge rejected his payday.
Business
Stock market today: Nasdaq futures pop, Tesla surges after earnings with more heavyweights on deck
|
Tech stocks rose on Wednesday, outstripping the broader market as investors welcomed Tesla’s (TSLA) cheaper car pledge and waited for the next rush of corporate earnings.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose roughly 0.6%, coming off a sharp closing gain. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.2%, continuing a rebound from its longest losing streak of 2024, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%.
Tesla shares jumped nearly 12% after the EV maker’s vow to speed up the launch of more affordable models eclipsed its quarterly earnings and revenue miss. That cheered up investors worried about growth amid a strategy shift to robotaxis and the planned cancellation of a cheaper model.
The results from the first “Magnificent Seven” to report have intensified the already high hopes for Big Tech earnings, that the megacaps can revive the rally in stocks they powered. The spotlight is now on Meta’s (META) report due after the market close, as the Facebook owner’s shares rose after the Senate voted for a potential ban on rival TikTok. Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) next up on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) reported better than expected first quarter results before the opening bell with a loss per share of $1.13, narrower than the $1.72 estimated by Wall Street. Shares rose about 2% in morning trade.
Live6 updates
-
Health19 hours ago
Remnants of bird flu virus found in pasteurized milk, FDA says
-
Health23 hours ago
Bird flu virus found in grocery milk as officials say supply still safe
-
News15 hours ago
Amid concerns over ‘collateral damage’ Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
-
Art19 hours ago
Random: We’re In Awe of Metaphor: ReFantazio’s Box Art
-
Investment23 hours ago
Taxes should not wag the tail of the investment dog, but that’s what Trudeau wants
-
News24 hours ago
Peel police chief met Sri Lankan officer a court says ‘participated’ in torture – Global News
-
Art13 hours ago
The unmissable events taking place during London’s Digital Art Week
-
Media18 hours ago
Vaughn Palmer: B.C. premier gives social media giants another chance