2024-05-14 14:09
Country's biggest union joins labour dispute against Tesla Unions see the fight as vital to protect labour model Tesla and Musk refuse to sign collective agreements Unionen may escalate efforts if action is circumvented STOCKHOLM, May 14 (Reuters) - Sweden's biggest union on Tuesday threw its weight behind a six-month-old strike by mechanics at Tesla (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab, escalating the U.S. carmaker's latest dispute with organised labour. At the heart of the strike is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement allowing the metal workers' union to negotiate deals for the workforce as a whole. Last month, Musk said the labour storm had passed in the country where Tesla's Model Y is the top-selling car, but he was contradicted by IF Metall, which said its strike continued. The union told Reuters that about 44 of its members - roughly a third of Tesla's Swedish mechanics - had downed tools at the company, which does not produce vehicles in Sweden but services them locally. "The strike is ongoing and we have no signs of reaching an agreement in the near future," IF Metall head Marie Nilsson said. "We have had a few sittings with the Swedish management during April, but ... Tesla has shown little willingness in discussing an end to the conflict." More than a dozen unions have launched action in support of IF Metall, with Unionen the latest and biggest. "It is fundamentally important to protect our collective agreement system," Martin Wastfeldt, head of negotiations at Unionen, told Reuters. Unionen began a blockade on Tuesday affecting all work for Tesla at DEKRA Industrial AB, which conducts equipment inspections. If Tesla seeks to circumvent the blockade by hiring other providers, Wastfeldt said Unionen was prepared to do more. This might involve Unionen members at the company that produces licence plates for Tesla in Sweden, or administrative, human resources and finance staff at Tesla itself. Access to licence plates has been one focal point of tensions, with Tesla suing unions that have sought to halt postal service to the automaker. On Tuesday, the union for Service and Communication employees, Seko, said it was taking steps to close a loophole New Tab, opens new tab in the blockade being used by Tesla. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike. It has previously said its Swedish employees have as good, or better, terms than those the union is demanding. The conflict is key for the company, whose tough stance globally on unions could be undermined if it buckles in Sweden, or if the strike spreads to bigger markets like Germany. WAR CHEST While the numbers on strike in Sweden are small, the stakes are high. Allowing companies to operate in Sweden without collective agreements would undermine unions and threaten the Swedish social model, potentially dragging in the government. "For IF Metall, it is very important not to lose. They simply cannot do that," trade union expert Anders Kjellberg said. Sweden's unions take heart from past successes - Unionen signed up payment services group Klarna to a collective agreement last year - and their firepower, with more than 10 billion crowns ($921 million) in IF Metall's strike fund alone. But while union action has caused some disruption, Tesla's new vehicle registrations in Sweden have broadly kept pace with the market. Since February, Tesla has brought in about 25 temporary staff from other European countries, some for multiple short-term stays. While it is unclear whether this is linked to the strike, it contrasts with the previous year, when no such workers were brought in, a review of labour registrations showed. Tesla did not respond to a request to clarify. Kjellberg noted some possible ways out of the impasse. Amazon (AMZN.O) New Tab, opens new tab, for example, has a third-party company manage its Swedish warehouses signed up to collective agreements, allowing the U.S parent company to avoid doing so. "It could last for months or even years, because IF Metall can't give up," Kjellberg said. "But in time, it is possible both parties will want to find a solution." ($1 = 10.8617 Swedish crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-strike-sweden-heats-up-nations-largest-union-joins-fray-2024-05-14/
2024-05-14 14:00
May 14 (Reuters) - Home Depot (HD.N) New Tab, opens new tab posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly same-store sales on Tuesday as cautious Americans shelled out less for big-ticket items while focusing on small-scale home repair and maintenance tasks. Customers have slashed discretionary spending and put pricey renovations on hold as they adjust to higher borrowing costs and elevated inflation, leading to a turbulent 2023 for home improvement retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's Cos (LOW.N) New Tab, opens new tab. "We continue to see softer engagements in larger discretionary projects where customers typically use financing to fund the projects such as kitchen and bathroom models," CEO Ted Decker said on a post-earnings call. Big-ticket transactions for products over $1,000 were down 6.5% in the first quarter from a year earlier, company executives said. Still, the top U.S. home improvement chain reaffirmed its fiscal 2024 targets on hopes of a recovery in the back half that against the backdrop of an uncertain economic environment and choppy housing market trends. "Home improvement is still a coiled spring," Truist analyst Scot Ciccarelli said, adding if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates there could be a significant re-acceleration in home improvement or maintenance activity as people focus on improving their existing homes. Shares of the Atlanta-based firm were swung between gains and losses and were last flat in early trading. Meanwhile, Home Depot is bulking up its Pro business segment catering to professional builders and contractors by agreeing in March to buy SRS Distribution in an $18.25 billion deal. Customer transactions, or the number of purchases made by Home Depot shoppers at its stores or online, fell 1% in the first quarter, but less than a steep 4.8% drop last year. Comparable sales fell for the sixth straight quarter, down 2.8%, compared with analysts' estimates of a 2.09% drop, according to LSEG data. First-quarter profit of $3.63 per share edged past estimates of $3.60. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/home-depot-posts-bigger-than-expected-quarterly-comparable-sales-drop-2024-05-14/
2024-05-14 13:56
JOHANNESBURG, May 14 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened on Tuesday after local data showed the country's unemployment rate rose in the first quarter and local mining output fell in March. At 1338 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4175 against the dollar , about 0.3% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded about 0.13% stronger against a basket of global currencies. South Africa's unemployment rate rose for the second quarter in a row to 32.9% in the first three months of this year, bringing it closer to the record high of 35.3% reached in late 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The outlook for the job market remains poor. Employment in the services industries will likely stagnate as restrictive monetary policy continues to weigh on domestic demand, hurting confidence," Nedbank analysts said in a research note. Meanwhile, total mining output fell 5.8% year on year in March, statistics agency data showed. Global markets await the latest U.S. inflation print on Wednesday. On the stock market, both the Top-40 (.JTOPI) New Tab, opens new tab and the broader all-share (.JALSH) New Tab, opens new tab indexes were trading around 0.3% higher. Anglo American Platinum's Johannesburg-listed shares (AMSJ.J) New Tab, opens new tab fell as much as 10% and were last down 7.1%, after parent Anglo American (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab said in a strategic review that it was exploring a demerger of its troubled platinum unit. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 4 basis points to 10.505%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-slips-q1-unemployment-rate-climbs-2024-05-14/
2024-05-14 12:52
NAIROBI, May 14 (Reuters) - Rescuers have pulled four people out of the rubble of a collapsed building in the Mathare neighbourhood of Kenya's capital on Tuesday, but more people were likely trapped, the Kenya Red Cross said. "Three out of the four rescued have been taken to a nearby health facility, while one with minor injuries was treated at the scene," the Red Cross wrote on social media platform X. The building was undergoing demolition when it collapsed, the Red Cross said. Mathare, in the east of Nairobi, is home to several hundred thousand people and one of the city's largest informal settlements, where planning regulations are poorly enforced. Mathare was inundated this month when the Mathare River, which runs through it, burst its banks after heavy rainfall, killing dozens and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. After weeks of heavy rains that have killed at least 289 people across the country, President William Ruto last month ordered residents to move away from flood-prone areas including in Mathare, where authorities began to destroy housing on riparian land deemed illegal. The collapsed five-story building had been partially demolished by officials a week ago, but some residents remained in their apartments, said Wanjiru Wanjiru, an activist with the Mathare Social Justice Centre, a local rights group. "We are still reeling from this ecological crisis... I think people were not leaving because the government had not given people any money to resettle anywhere," Wanjiru told Reuters by telephone. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/several-people-feared-trapped-collapsed-building-nairobi-2024-05-14/
2024-05-14 12:50
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab is exploring an initial public offering of its diamond business De Beers, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, with London the preferred venue, one of them said. The potential listing was the default option, the second person said, although the process is at an early stage. Both were speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans are private. The London-listed miner set out on Tuesday its plans for a potential break-up via a demerger or sale of some of its assets, as it fights off a £34 billion takeover bid from BHP Group (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab. CEO Duncan Wanblad said the plan was to spin out or sell De Beers, but did not go into details about how that would be done. Anglo holds 85% of De Beers while the government of Botswana, where its biggest mines are, owns the remainder. Anglo declined to comment. Botswana did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/anglo-american-explores-de-beers-ipo-part-break-up-sources-say-2024-05-14/
2024-05-14 12:46
YENAGOA, Nigeria, May 14 (Reuters) - Oil major Shell (SHEL.L) New Tab, opens new tab is investigating reports of smoke early Tuesday near its Gbaran Ubie oil and gas facility in Nigeria's coastal Bayelsa state, a spokesperson said, after residents reported hearing explosions and seeing smoke near the area. The incident would not immediately lead to an operational shut-in, the Shell spokesperson said. A fire was reported around 0600 GMT by residents in the nearby community, who said blasts were heard where pipeline repair works had been ongoing. The Gbaran facility, which began operations in 2010, is by far the most important Nigeria LNG gas feedstock project, processing almost 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. "We are actively monitoring reports of smoke detected near our Gbaran Central Processing Facility in Bayelsa State. While the source appears to be external to our facility, we are in close communication with regulatory authorities to look into the incident and ensure the safety of the surrounding communities," a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Shell did not immediately respond to the accounts of residents in the area. Resident Ovie Ogbuku told Reuters: "At about 7 a.m. I heard the sound so deafeningly and it shook the foundation of the earth and we ran for our dear lives. The result is the thick smoke you are seeing now." Another resident Uche Ede said; "We have no idea of the cause of the explosion but we are grateful no life was lost because it was far away from homes." Land operations in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta are prone to sabotage, theft, and pipeline vandalism, forcing oil majors to exit such fields to focus on deepwater drilling. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/shell-investigates-smoke-near-gbaran-oil-facility-nigeria-2024-05-14/
