Nissan Lays Off 700 Workers
Nissan announced on Thursday that they will lay off 700 workers at a Mississippi plant. They cited slow sales of its vehicles for the cutbacks. In total, Nissan employs 6,5000 people in Canton, Mississippi. This news comes as Nissan deals with the arrest of their former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Nissan stated that the layoffs are unrelated to the arrest. In addition to the layoffs, they also are reducing shifts for remaining employees. They also announced plans to lay off workers in Mexican production plants.
Microsoft Pledges $500M To Seattle Housing Crisis
Microsoft pledged $500M to help combat Seattle’s homelessness and construct new houses. Most of the money is aimed at the lower to middle class to increase housing options in the Puget Sound. This pledge is the largest the company has done in its 44-year existence. It is also one of the largest pledges a private company has done for housing.
Currently, it is unknown how much housing will come as a result to the pledge. However, Microsoft president Brad Smith hopes that the number will be in the tens of thousands. The company plans to split the money three ways. Most of the money will go to help developers build houses for lower-to-middle class workers.
John Bogle Dies At 89
Vanguard Group founder John Bogle died on Wednesday at the age of 89. Bogle lived through the Great Depression, and as a result founded the Vanguard Group, which is currently the biggest mutual fund firm in the world. After suffering from ill health, including multiple heart attacks, he died from cancer.
He often used sharp rhetoric with a wry sense of humor and established a reputation in his industry. He was constantly at odds with Vanguard executives who then eventually removed much of his power within the organization.
Wall Street Rises After Tariff Rumors
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after hopes rose that the U.S. would end the China tariffs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed lifting some or all tariffs imposed on Chinese imports. He also suggested offering a tariff rollback during trade discussions scheduled for January 30. When reported, The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.67$%, the S&P 500 rose 0.76%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.71%.
Walmart Partners With More Delivery Companies
Walmart announced partnerships with another four companies as part of its goal of offering grocery home delivery on Thursday Their new partners are Point Pickup, which offers same-day deliveries, as well as delivery company Skipcart, which uses crowdsourced labor. They also partnered with shipping firm AxleHire and Roadie, which connects senders with drivers who are already going in the needed direction.
Walmart, the largest grocer in the U.S., said it will partner with the companies in four states. Currently, online grocery delivery service is available in more than 800 stores, with plans for another 800 by in January 2020.
