9 challenges Amazon faces on its 25th birthday - CNN

From calls for it be broken up by high-powered officials to questions about its worker pay and growing competition from rivals, the Seattle-based company could be facing a quarter-life crisis.

Elizabeth Warren calls for a breakup

Sen. Elizabeth Warren doesn't like what she sees in Big Tech. The Democratic presidential candidate released a plan to break up giant companies like Amazon (AMZN). She wants to impose new rules on certain kinds of tech companies that have $25 billion or more in annual revenue, and unwind some high-profile mergers such as Amazon's $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods.

"Today's big tech companies have too much power -- too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They've bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation," Warren wrote in a Medium blog post published in March.

AOC slams Jeff Bezos' pay

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed Amazon CEO Bezos for being a billionaire while his company pays its warehouse workers what she called "starvation wages."

She recently said in an interview with ABC News that the company's low worker pay has helped make Bezos the world's richest person.

In a response to the New York Democrat, Amazon said she is "just wrong." The company says it pays a $15 minimum wage and offers full benefits to employees in their first days on the job. It also noted that it has lobbied to raise the federal minimum wage.

Senator Bernie Sanders has also made similar arguments against Amazon's worker pay.

Biden questions Amazon's taxes

Joe Biden knocked Amazon over the amount of corporate taxes it pays.

"I have nothing against Amazon, but no company pulling in billions of dollars of profits should pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers. We need to reward work, not just wealth," he said on Twitter. The tweet from the former vice president and Democratic presidential hopeful referenced a corporate tax rebate that Amazon received in 2018.

Amazon responded, saying in a tweet that the company pays "every penny we owe." It added: "Congress designed tax laws to encourage companies to reinvest in the American economy. We have $200B in investments since 2011 & 300K US jobs. Assume VP Biden's complaint is w/ the tax code, not Amazon."

Trump investigates post office deal

Amazon isn't getting much reprieve from the Trump administration, thanks to the president's beef with Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos as well as the United States Postal Service.

Last year, Trump ordered a federal task force to investigate the Postal Service's finances because he thinks Amazon takes advantage of the agency. At the root of all this drama is likely Bezos' ownership of The Washington Post, which has published stories that are unfavorable of to Trump throughout his presidency.

Amazon has a confidential agreement with the Postal Service under which the agency delivers a large number of packages directly to the post office closest to their destination. The Postal Service then delivers the packages to customers.

Employees want to fix climate change

Amazon employees are putting pressure on the company to rethink how it contributes to the battle against global warming.

In April, a group of 3,500 employees signed a Medium post that urged Bezos to publicly outline the company's plans to reduce carbon emissions and its reliance on fossil fuels. The signatories said that Amazon's "sustainability goals lack context."

Amazon unveiled in February a project it called Shipment Zero, which makes all packages net zero carbon and 50% of all shipments net zero by 2030. The company said it has 200 scientists, engineers, and product designers focused on sustainability efforts, from solar and wind farms to efforts around shipment waste.

Angering its hometown headquarters

Amazon publicly opposed a proposed a new "head tax" that the city of Seattle wanted to place on large businesses to address homelessness and fund affordable housing. Companies would pay 26 cents per working hour for each employee it has in Seattle, or roughly $540 a year for every full-time employee.

The tax would've hit Amazon hard, since it's the city's largest private employer. It has more than 45,000 employees in the Washington city, so it would've paid more than $20 million a year. In response, Amazon temporarily halted construction of a new 17-floor tower.

The bill was scuttled and Seattle ended up passing a smaller version of the tax.

Problems with its HQ2

Amazon had to retreat from Long Island City in New York after it announced in February that it planned to build a second headquarters there. That news prompted lots of public outcry from both the public and local officials.

Amazon ditched its plans three months later, saying "a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence." Critics blasted the $1.525 billion in incentives New York offered to lure the tech behemoth and worried that it would soon lead to longtime residents being priced out of their homes.

Amazon ditches China

Amazon also pulled back from the world's biggest market for online shopping, China. It closed its marketplace, meaning Amazon customers in the country will no longer be able to buy goods from Chinese merchants.

Amazon first entered the Chinese market 15 years ago, when it acquired an online book retailer, but it has struggled amid fierce competition. Research suggests that the company's market share in China was miniscule compared to local rivals, like Alibaba (BABA).

Stamping out anti-vaxxers

A CNN Business investigation in February revealed that Amazon was offering lots of anti-vaccination content to people seeking information about the controversial topic. When asked about it, Amazon said it provides customers with "access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable."

Anti-vax material was also available on its Prime Video service. Days after the investigation published, Amazon began removing the anti-vaccine videos. But some books on the topic are still being sold despite the dangerous and unproven nature of the theory.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/04/business/amazon-25th-birthday-challenges-trnd/index.html

2019-07-04 12:28:00Z
CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAxOS8wNy8wNC9idXNpbmVzcy9hbWF6b24tMjV0aC1iaXJ0aGRheS1jaGFsbGVuZ2VzLXRybmQvaW5kZXguaHRtbNIBW2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmNubi5jb20vY25uLzIwMTkvMDcvMDQvYnVzaW5lc3MvYW1hem9uLTI1dGgtYmlydGhkYXktY2hhbGxlbmdlcy10cm5kL2luZGV4Lmh0bWw

Opinion: What Apple’s restructure means for the company and for Tim Cook - 9to5Mac

Apple’s restructure to accommodate the departure of Jony Ive led to some concern that Apple wasn’t giving design quite as high a profile in the past – amid claims and counter-claims about the run-up to it.

There is no direct replacement for Ive as head of design, and instead of the hardware and software leads reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook, they are reporting into COO Jeff Williams.

But this shouldn’t be cause for concern; quite the opposite …

NordVPN

Apple’s restructure already makes sense

As my colleague Bradley Chambers observed, it already makes a lot of sense to have design report to operations.

Whenever people question design and COO, I want to point them to the MacBook keyboard issues.

Because Jony Ive had such power at Apple, he was able to push through a design that was beautifully slim but which couldn’t be manufactured with the required level of reliability. Hence the report today about Apple abandoning the butterfly design. Having operations able to push back against design decisions which look good in the lab but won’t scale to mass production is an extremely important change.

As Steve Jobs himself said:

Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, “Make it look good!” That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

But the restructure goes further than this

Apple commentator John Gruber suggests that Apple’s restructure goes even further.

One key point that I missed in [my first take on Ive’s departure] is that having design chiefs Evans Hankey (Industrial Design) and Alan Dye (Human Interface Design) report directly to COO Jeff Williams does make sense organizationally. What I had missed is that coincident with the announcement of Ive’s departure, Apple promoted Sabih Khan to senior vice president of operations. Apple hasn’t had an SVP of operations since Jeff Williams held the title, back when Tim Cook was COO under Steve Jobs. Back then Williams ran operations while Cook ran the company and Jobs devoted his remaining time to new products.

Williams still holds the title COO, but titles don’t mean much at Apple. Rank matters, of course, and SVP is an elite level at Apple — there are only 13 executives at that level, and one of them is still Jony Ive. But the literal titles don’t necessary describe what executives do. Eddy Cue’s title — senior vice president of internet software and services — comes to mind. I don’t know where one would begin crafting a succinct title that accurately describes Cue’s domain, but that’s not it. That just doesn’t matter at Apple.

This means Sabih Kahn is running operations now. Jeff Williams’s title hasn’t changed, but he’s effectively now running product development. He’s led the Apple Watch product team from its inception; now I think he’s overseeing product for everything. Cook and Williams did run operations while holding the COO title, but what “COO” really means at Apple is “second in command”. Tim Cook didn’t move design under operations; he promoted Williams to a new position, effectively “chief product officer”, and as such it makes sense that Hankey and Dye would report to him.

Gruber suggests that Williams’ real role now is ‘chief product officer,’ but given that both hardware and software design heads report to him, you could equally well argue that Williams has now taken on Ive’s role as head of design.

Either way, Apple’s restructure means we now have someone with immense operations experience making the final call on design decisions, and that’s got to be good news when it comes to product reliability.

There’s a reason Williams keeps his COO title

As for title, there’s likely a very good reason Williams remains COO on paper, whatever his real responsibilities. That title does indeed say ‘second in command,’ but more specifically it means ‘CEO designate.’ At some point, Williams is going to replace Cook.

That raises the question of when Cook will go, and what he will do. The ‘what’ is, I think, clear. Cook said back in 2015 that he plans to give away all his wealth, and to take a thoughtful approach to the way that money is used.

He plans to give away all his wealth, after providing for the college education of his 10-year-old nephew […] Cook says that he has already begun donating money quietly, but that he plans to take time to develop a systematic approach to philanthropy rather than simply writing checks.

The most obvious way to do that would be by establishing a foundation, and then running it himself. To do exactly what Bill Gates did, leaving his role as Chairman of Microsoft to establish the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Cook doesn’t have the same sums of money to play with, of course, but he’s still the kind of man who would want to take an extremely active role in ensuring that the money is spent in a way that achieves the biggest impact in the areas which matter most to him.

Cook also frequently speaks out on social issues, and has taken a certain amount of flack for doing so. There are those who feel that he should be focusing less on activism and more on his role at Apple, and I can see a time where he decides that the activism is more important to him. Right now, his role as Apple CEO amplifies his voice, but there will come a time when he feels his profile is high enough to maintain media interest without the job title.

When that will be is harder to predict. Cook clearly cares immensely about Apple, but that doesn’t mean he will necessarily want to continue running the company indefinitely. If he feels Williams represents a safe pair of hands – something already demonstrated by this restructure – then that makes it possible for him to hand over the reigns with a clean conscience sooner rather than later.

Apple can’t afford another major upheaval in its senior leadership anytime in the immediate future, but two years down the line? I could see that.

That’s my take on Apple’s restructure; what’s your view? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Image: TIME

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://9to5mac.com/2019/07/04/apples-restructure/

2019-07-04 11:52:00Z
52780325714595

BMW and Daimler partner on autonomous driving, first results of team-up in market by 2024 - TechCrunch

Global automakers BMW and Daimler will join forces in a new long-term partnership to co-develop automated driving technologies, including levels of automation all the way up to SAE Level 4, which is defined as full self-driving, no human intervention required, but only under exactly defined conditions or domains – steering wheel and brakes not necessarily even present I the car.

This BMW/Daimler partnership includes developing automated driving technologies that precede Level 4, too, including advanced driver assistance features like smart cruise control and automated parking. And while it isn’t in scope of this specific arrangement, the two car makers also say that talks continue about expanding their cooperation to cover highly-automated driving within denser urban areas and in city driving conditions.

It’s a non-exclusive arrangement, which is the new normal in autonomous vehicle technology development, where cross-manufacturer partnerships have been increasingly common, and where we’ve also seen legacy automakers turn with fair frequency to startups and younger technology companies to supplement their in-house development efforts.

Daimler and BMW aim to develop a “scalable platform for automated driving” through their combined efforts, which the companies say is open for participation form both other automakers and tech providers. The resulting platform will also be made available to other OEMs under license.

Independently, Daimler is currently working on deploying its first Level 4/Level 5 self-driving vehicle pilot program in an urban environment in partnership with Bosch, and aims to have that operational this year. BMW’s next big automated driving push will be alongside its iNEXT lines of vehicles, with Level 3 technologies targeted release along with the first of those models in 2021. Both partners expect to implement the results of this partnership specifically in their own respective model series vehicles beginning in 2024, however.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/04/bmw-and-daimler-partner-on-autonomous-driving-first-results-of-team-up-in-market-by-2024/

2019-07-04 11:43:22Z
CAIiEMJOSr4wxVYIDgcnAiAIveMqFAgEKg0IACoGCAowlIEBMLEXMOc_

BMW and Daimler to team up in push toward self-driving cars - CNBC

Andrzej Wojcicki | Science Photo Library | Getty Images

BMW and Mercedes-manufacturer Daimler announced a new partnership on Thursday to develop autonomous driving.

Some 1,200 technicians from the two German auto giants will team up in a bid to develop self-driving technology. The engineers will work toward driver-assistance systems, automated driving on highways as well as parking. The firms say the technology will be specified to what industry insiders call SAE level 4.

"Further talks are planned to extend the cooperation to higher levels of automation in urban areas and city centers," BMW said in a joint statement.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) levels determine the automation capabilities of vehicles, ranking from zero to five.

Level 4 vehicles can intervene if things go wrong or if there is a system failure. The car can perform all functions itself, although a manual override is available to a driver.

Daimler and BMW said they are targeting 2024 as a key date for installing the technology in cars available to the general public.

The automakers said the cooperation is "non-exclusive" and partner manufacturers and technology firms will take part in the work.

They added that the results won't be kept secret and other firms can see the conclusions "under license."

Safer than a human?

On Tuesday, the two German companies joined with nine other firms to publish a white paper on driverless technology, entitled "Safety First for Automated Driving."

The report aims to draft worldwide industry standards for tackling the risks of self-driving cars and trucks.

Authors and experts from the firms involved say they aim to present the paper's principles and findings at auto industry and technology conferences over the next few months.

BMW said the main goal of the paper is to create a situation where an autonomously-driven vehicle is proven to be safer than one involving full human control.

Other participants in the document included Audi, Baidu, Continental, Fiat Chrysler, Here Technologies, Infineon, Intel, Volkswagen and Aptiv.

Now watch: Uber unveils its autonomous car

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/04/self-driving-car-push-by-bmw-and-daimler-joint-venture.html

2019-07-04 10:46:23Z
CAIiEFWslau4V0vBNhxPBkleGBcqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMP3ungY

Samsung charged with misleading Galaxy phone owners over water resistance - The Verge

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Samsung to court over allegations it misled customers over the nature of various phones’ water resistance. Samsung has been depicting phones in or near to unsuitable environments such as swimming pools and oceans since 2016, the ACCC alleges, when it didn’t have a basis to make this representation.

“The ACCC alleges Samsung’s advertisements falsely and misleadingly represented Galaxy phones would be suitable for use in, or for exposure to, all types of water, including in ocean water and swimming pools, and would not be affected by such exposure to water for the life of the phone, when this was not the case,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement. The lawsuit is based on a review of more than 300 advertisements.

Various Galaxy phones are advertised as having IP68 water resistance, meaning that they can last in waters 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. But as the ACCC points out, that doesn’t cover all types of water, and Samsung itself says that the Galaxy S10 isn’t advised for beach use. “Samsung showed the Galaxy phones used in situations they shouldn’t be to attract customers,” Mr Sims says, arguing that consumers value water resistance as a feature and were denied an informed choice.

Samsung tells Reuters that it’s standing by its marketing and plans to fight the case.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/4/20682059/samsung-australia-lawsuit-accc-water-resistance

2019-07-04 07:28:24Z
52780326100937

Samsung accused of misleading customers on Galaxy S 'water resistance' - CNET

Samsung's flagship phones have been advertised as IP68 water resistant since 2016.

Josh Miller/CNET

In 2016 Samsung released its first IP68 water-resistant phone, the Galaxy S7. All of the electronics giant's flagship phones have since carried the IP68 certification for water resistance, and have been advertised as water-friendly phones. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), an Australian consumer watchdog, says this amounts to false advertising, and on July 4 announced it's taking Samsung to court.

There are two key components to the ACCC's issue with Samsung. First, Samsung's advertising indicated that submerging a Galaxy phone under 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes or less wouldn't impact the device over the course of its lifetime. Second, Samsung advertised phones being used in beaches and pools, even though the IP68 certification only applies to fresh water. 

ACCC reviewed over 300 Samsung ads as the basis for its claims, it said.  

IP68 certified phones are technically water-resistant, not waterproof, and specifically for depths up to 1.5 meters and for 30 minutes or under. IP67 phones, like 2014's Galaxy S5, are resistant for 30 minutes or less for depths of 1 meter or less, but ACCC specifically referred to phones marketed from 2016 on. 

The ACCC claims that Samsung has rebuffed warranty claims by customers who say their phones were damaged by water exposure. The watchdog also notes that Samsung's own website claims the Galaxy S10, its early-2019 flagship phone, is "not advised for beach or pool use." 

Now playing: Watch this: The Galaxy S10 is fantastic

5:14

"The ACCC alleges Samsung's advertisements falsely and misleadingly represented Galaxy phones would be suitable for use in, or for exposure to, all types of water, including in ocean water and swimming pools, and would not be affected by such exposure to water for the life of the phone, when this was not the case," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

"Samsung showed the Galaxy phones used in situations they shouldn't be to attract customers," Mr Sims said.

For its part, Samsung says it has noted ACCC's accusations and plans to defend itself in court.

"Samsung stands by its marketing and advertising of the water resistancy of its smartphones," the company said in a statement. "We are also confident that we provide customers with free-of-charge remedies in a manner consistent with Samsung's obligations under its manufacturer warranty and the Australian Consumer Law. Customer satisfaction is a top priority for Samsung and we are committed to acting in the best interest of our customers." 

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-accused-of-misleading-customers-on-galaxy-s-water-resistance-accc/

2019-07-04 04:42:00Z
52780326100937

Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca's greatest accomplishments, from the Mustang to the minivan - Fox Business

Legendary automotive executive Lee Iacocca died on Tuesday at the age of 94.

Continue Reading Below

The son of Italian immigrants, Iacocca reached a level of celebrity matched by few auto moguls.

During the peak of his popularity in the '80s, he was famous for his TV ads and catchy tagline: "If you can find a better car, buy it!" He also wrote two best-selling books and was courted as a presidential candidate.

Though he is known for his successes, he also suffered failures, including being fired from his position as Ford president in 1978. However, he soon went on to Chrysler, where he helped save the automaker as it was drowning in debt.

MORE ON FOXBUSINESS.COM…

In the wake of the auto icon’s death, here are a few of Iacocca’s greatest accomplishments.

Advertisement

He made the Ford Mustang popular

Iacocca’s first burst of fame came with the debut of the Mustang.

In 1960 at the age of 35, Iacocca was the vice president and general manager of the Ford division.

Four year later, when the Mustang was released in 1964, he had convinced his superiors that Ford needed the affordable, stylish coupe to take advantage of the growing youth market.

He broke from tradition by launching the car in April rather than the fall. Ford invited reporters to a 70-car Mustang rally from New York to Dearborn, which generated huge publicity. The car made the covers of TIME and Newsweek the same week.

Six years later, he was named Ford president and immediately undertook an organizational restructuring to cut costs as the company struggled with foreign competition and rising gas prices.

“Lee Iacocca was truly bigger than life and he left an indelible mark on Ford, the auto industry and our country," Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor said upon Iacocca's passing. "Lee played a central role in the creation of Mustang.”

He helped save Chrysler in the 1980s

Though Iacocca was fired from Ford in 1978, he was strongly courted by Chrysler and helped cement its turnaround in the 1980s.

In 1979, Chrysler was floundering in $5 billion of debt. It had a bloated manufacturing system that was turning out gas-guzzlers that the public didn't want.

When the banks turned him down, Iacocca and the United Auto Workers union helped persuade the government to approve $1.5 billion in loan guarantees that kept the No. 3 domestic automaker afloat.

Bud Liebler, Chrysler’s former spokesman said Iacocca is the last of an era of brash, charismatic executives who could produce results.

"Lee made money. He went to Washington and made all these crazy promises, then he delivered on them," Liebler said.

Iacocca wrung wage concessions from the union, closed or consolidated 20 plants, laid off thousands of workers and introduced new cars. In TV commercials, he admitted Chrysler's mistakes but insisted the company had changed.

The strategy worked. The bland, basic Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant were affordable, fuel-efficient and had room for six. In 1981, they captured 20 percent of the market for compact cars. In 1983, Chrysler paid back its government loans, with interest, 7 years early.

He introduced the minivan

In 1984, just after the automaker paid back its government loans, Iacocca introduced the wildly successful Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans and created a new market.

Bob Lutz, Chrysler’s former head of product development and Iacocca’s colleague, told CNBC that the minivan is what saved the company, even though they had colleagues who opposed the idea.

“Lee kept saying, 'It will work, it will work,'”  Lutz told the outlet. “So we transformed the plant in St. Louis and once it was up and running, we sold out of production almost immediately. Lee was right.”

He bought American Motors

Even though Chrysler was out of debt and seemed stable, Iacocca decided to purchase American Motors in 1987.

Although the $1.5 billion acquisition was criticized at the time, AMC's Jeep brand has become a gold mine for now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as demand for SUVs surged.

“Lee was an intelligent risk-taker,” Lutz told CNBC. “Look at the decision to buy American Motors. If we had not done that deal, Chrysler never would have acquired the Jeep brand, which would go on to become a big part of Chrysler’s success.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP

He headed a campaign to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

In 1982, Iacocca was chosen by then-President Ronald Reagan to lead the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, which oversaw the renovation of the statue and the reopening of Ellis Island as a museum of immigration.

He said he accepted the position as a way to honor his parents, who were Italian immigrants, according to Reuters.The foundation raised more than $350 million, which was more than double its initial goal, the outlet reported.

The statue renovation was completed in 1986 and the museum on Ellis Island was opened in 1990.

FOX Business’ Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/lee-iacocca-greatest-accomplishments

2019-07-03 16:00:28Z
52780325474949