Company news in brief
SAA begins talks on job cuts
Specialists appointed to try to save struggling South African Airways (SAA) said on Monday they plan to begin employee consultations on job cuts, a stage of the rescue plan likely to meet fierce resistance from trade unions.
"Our intention has always been to preserve as many jobs as possible through this process while still focusing on having a sustainable airline," the practitioners Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana said in a joint statement, adding that they had notified at least seven different unions.
Matuson and Dongwana said that they "contemplate that all 4 708 employees will be affected and the number of jobs that will exist in the restructured organisation will be the subject of the consultation process".
SAA entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December, with administrators taking over management of the state-owned airline, which hasn't made a profit since 2011.
Matuson and Dongwana said in their statement on Monday that the airline had "cumulated losses of some R26 billion over the past six years". – Nampa/Reuters
BHP in 'good shape' to act against corona
BHP Group is in good shape to take action should supply chain disruption caused by the global coronavirus epidemic trigger acquisition opportunities, the global miner's chairman Ken MacKenzie said yesterday.
"On balance, the business is in very good shape," MacKenzie said, speaking at the Australian Financial Review summit in Sydney.
Last month, the world's biggest miner said this year's demand could take a hit if fallout from the coronavirus outbreak extended beyond March.
Even as China's businesses and economy show signs of recovery after a stringent campaign to contain the virus, production and transport disruption within the country have boosted import demand for BHP's products such as iron ore and metallurgical coal, MacKenzie said.
BHP has been focused on scenario analysis around the potential impact of the virus on global supply chains, he said.
Since more value is created from moves at the bottom of the economic cycle, or when assets are cheap, the miner is also looking at any opportunities that might arise from other disruptions, like climate change.
"We need to have a business that is ready for the bottom of the cycle at all times," he said. – Nampa/Reuters
Qantas cuts international capacity
Qantas Airways Ltd will cut its international capacity by nearly 25% over the next six months and delay an order for Airbus A350 planes as part of sweeping changes in response to a coronavirus-led plunge in passenger demand.
The Australian airline also said yesterday it is cancelling plans for a A$150 million (US$98.73 million) off-market share buyback to preserve cash.
Qantas' chief executive and chairman will take no salary for the rest of the current financial year, the management team will receive no bonuses and all staff are being encouraged to take paid or unpaid leave.
"We are using every lever we can to avoid redundancies," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told reporters in Sydney. "We think we can do that into September with these cuts."
The carrier is now grounding the equivalent of 38 planes, more than double the 18 it had announced last month. – Nampa/Reuters
Heineken to pour millions into Brazil
Heineken NV will invest 865 million reais (US$183.14 million) to expand its Ponta Grossa brewing plant in Brazil, the company said on Monday, as competition between the world's two largest beer makers bubbles up.
The Dutch brewer will make the investment this year and next and focus on it Heineken and Amstel brands at the third-largest brewing facility in Parana state in Brazil, its most important market worldwide.
The company did not give details of the expansion plan, stating only that production would rise by 75%.
"We are bringing forward by one year all the investments of our strategic plan. Brazil is a key market for us," Heineken Brazil chief executive officer Mauricio Giamellaro told Reuters.
The expansion announcement came just on day after Ambev announced it will invest 2 billion reais to open a new brewery in northern Brazil, a malting factory in the southeast region, along with a can producing unit and additional premium beer production lines. – Nampa/Reuters
Boeing shares plunge on virus, 737 MAX
Shares of Boeing Co dropped more than 12% on Monday amid a broader market plunge as pressure mounted on global aviation from the spread of the coronavirus and US regulators said they disagreed with Boeing's argument about the safety of wiring bundles on the grounded 737 MAX jet.
Underscoring the global risks for America's largest exporter, Ethiopian investigators singled out faulty 737 MAX systems in a new interim report on last year's crash, the second of two fatal accidents that plunged Boeing into its worst-ever crisis.
Boeing in February said it did not believe it was required to separate or move wiring bundles on its grounded 737 MAX jetliner that regulators had warned could cause a short circuit on the 737 MAX, and lead to a crash if pilots did not react soon enough.
Industry sources said airlines, facing a sharp drop in travel demand due to rising coronavirus outbreaks, were starting to request deferring aircraft deliveries and cash down-payments to Boeing and European rival Airbus.
Separately, Boeing said an employee at its Everett facility in Washington state had been quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus. – Nampa/Reuters
Specialists appointed to try to save struggling South African Airways (SAA) said on Monday they plan to begin employee consultations on job cuts, a stage of the rescue plan likely to meet fierce resistance from trade unions.
"Our intention has always been to preserve as many jobs as possible through this process while still focusing on having a sustainable airline," the practitioners Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana said in a joint statement, adding that they had notified at least seven different unions.
Matuson and Dongwana said that they "contemplate that all 4 708 employees will be affected and the number of jobs that will exist in the restructured organisation will be the subject of the consultation process".
SAA entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December, with administrators taking over management of the state-owned airline, which hasn't made a profit since 2011.
Matuson and Dongwana said in their statement on Monday that the airline had "cumulated losses of some R26 billion over the past six years". – Nampa/Reuters
BHP in 'good shape' to act against corona
BHP Group is in good shape to take action should supply chain disruption caused by the global coronavirus epidemic trigger acquisition opportunities, the global miner's chairman Ken MacKenzie said yesterday.
"On balance, the business is in very good shape," MacKenzie said, speaking at the Australian Financial Review summit in Sydney.
Last month, the world's biggest miner said this year's demand could take a hit if fallout from the coronavirus outbreak extended beyond March.
Even as China's businesses and economy show signs of recovery after a stringent campaign to contain the virus, production and transport disruption within the country have boosted import demand for BHP's products such as iron ore and metallurgical coal, MacKenzie said.
BHP has been focused on scenario analysis around the potential impact of the virus on global supply chains, he said.
Since more value is created from moves at the bottom of the economic cycle, or when assets are cheap, the miner is also looking at any opportunities that might arise from other disruptions, like climate change.
"We need to have a business that is ready for the bottom of the cycle at all times," he said. – Nampa/Reuters
Qantas cuts international capacity
Qantas Airways Ltd will cut its international capacity by nearly 25% over the next six months and delay an order for Airbus A350 planes as part of sweeping changes in response to a coronavirus-led plunge in passenger demand.
The Australian airline also said yesterday it is cancelling plans for a A$150 million (US$98.73 million) off-market share buyback to preserve cash.
Qantas' chief executive and chairman will take no salary for the rest of the current financial year, the management team will receive no bonuses and all staff are being encouraged to take paid or unpaid leave.
"We are using every lever we can to avoid redundancies," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told reporters in Sydney. "We think we can do that into September with these cuts."
The carrier is now grounding the equivalent of 38 planes, more than double the 18 it had announced last month. – Nampa/Reuters
Heineken to pour millions into Brazil
Heineken NV will invest 865 million reais (US$183.14 million) to expand its Ponta Grossa brewing plant in Brazil, the company said on Monday, as competition between the world's two largest beer makers bubbles up.
The Dutch brewer will make the investment this year and next and focus on it Heineken and Amstel brands at the third-largest brewing facility in Parana state in Brazil, its most important market worldwide.
The company did not give details of the expansion plan, stating only that production would rise by 75%.
"We are bringing forward by one year all the investments of our strategic plan. Brazil is a key market for us," Heineken Brazil chief executive officer Mauricio Giamellaro told Reuters.
The expansion announcement came just on day after Ambev announced it will invest 2 billion reais to open a new brewery in northern Brazil, a malting factory in the southeast region, along with a can producing unit and additional premium beer production lines. – Nampa/Reuters
Boeing shares plunge on virus, 737 MAX
Shares of Boeing Co dropped more than 12% on Monday amid a broader market plunge as pressure mounted on global aviation from the spread of the coronavirus and US regulators said they disagreed with Boeing's argument about the safety of wiring bundles on the grounded 737 MAX jet.
Underscoring the global risks for America's largest exporter, Ethiopian investigators singled out faulty 737 MAX systems in a new interim report on last year's crash, the second of two fatal accidents that plunged Boeing into its worst-ever crisis.
Boeing in February said it did not believe it was required to separate or move wiring bundles on its grounded 737 MAX jetliner that regulators had warned could cause a short circuit on the 737 MAX, and lead to a crash if pilots did not react soon enough.
Industry sources said airlines, facing a sharp drop in travel demand due to rising coronavirus outbreaks, were starting to request deferring aircraft deliveries and cash down-payments to Boeing and European rival Airbus.
Separately, Boeing said an employee at its Everett facility in Washington state had been quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus. – Nampa/Reuters
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