Company news in brief

Irish watchdog fines TwitterIreland's data regulator has fined Twitter 450 000 euro for a bug that made some private tweets public, the regulator said yesterday, in the first sanction against a US firm under a new European Union data privacy system.The EU's General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR) "One Stop Shop" regime makes Ireland's Data Protection Commission lead regulator of Twitter, Facebook, Apple and Google in the bloc, due to the location of their EU headquarters.The GDPR has been in force since 2018, but the Twitter case is the first using a new dispute resolution system under which one lead national regulator makes a decision before consulting with the other EU national regulators.The Twitter fine relates to a 2019 probe into a bug in its Android app, where some users' protected tweets were made public.Twitter said in a statement that the delay in reporting the incident was an "unanticipated consequence of staffing between Christmas Day 2018 and New Years' Day" and that it had made changes so that future incidents would be reported in a timely fashion. – Nampa/ReutersVolkswagen power struggle ends - for nowShares in Volkswagen rose as much as 5.2% yesterday after the carmaker temporarily defused a power struggle over the measures needed to accelerate the group's push towards electric vehicles.The conflict pitted chief executive Herbert Diess against Bernd Osterloh, Volkswagen's powerful labour boss, whose views differed on the pace required to turn the 83-year old automaker into a tech company modelled on Tesla.In the statement late on Monday, Volkswagen's supervisory board provided unanimous support for Diess and key appointments requested by the 62-year old, including Arno Antlitz who will take over as finance chief from Frank Witter in June.At the same time, Diess dropped his demand for an early extension of his contract, which runs until 2023, according to people close to the supervisory board, which was seen as a victory for Osterloh.Volkswagen also said it would cut overhead costs by 5% and procurement costs by 7% over the next two years. – Nampa/ReutersAdidas exploring strategic optionsGerman sportswear maker Adidas AG said on Monday it is considering strategic options, including a potential sale, for Reebok, 15 years after it bought the US-focused brand to take on archrival Nike Inc on its home turf.The decision will be announced on 10 March, when the company officially presents its new strategy, Adidas said.The company bought Boston-based Reebok for US$3.8 billion in 2005, but a lack of progress in turning it around led to repeated calls from investors to dispose of the brand.Reebok's net sales fell 7% in the third quarter of 2020 to 403 million euro, after falling as much as 44% in the preceding quarter. In 2019, Adidas wrote down Reebok's book value by nearly half, compared with 2018, to 842 million euro.Recent collaborations with celebrities like Cardi B and a refreshed focus on women's apparel have put the brand in a better place, said Jessica Ramirez, retail analyst at Jane Hali & Associates. – Nampa/ReutersExxon Mobil under pressure on climateOil major Exxon Mobil Corp, under increasing pressure from investors and climate change campaigners, said on Monday it planned to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years.By 2025, Exxon would reduce the intensity of its oilfield greenhouse gas emissions by 15% to 20% from 2016 levels. It did not set an overall emissions target, however, and reducing intensity means that emissions still could rise if oil and gas output grows.The reduction would be supported by a 40%-50% decrease in methane intensity and a 35%-45% decrease in flaring intensity across Exxon's global operations, with routine natural gas flaring eliminated within a decade, the company said.Exxon said it would meet goals it set in 2018 by the end of this year to cut methane emissions by 15% and flaring by 25% compared with 2016 levels.In May, Exxon’s second-largest shareholder, BlackRock Inc, voted in favour of an independent chairman and against the re-election of two directors over Exxon's approach to climate risks. – Nampa/ReutersApple to increase iPhone productionApple Inc plans to manufacture up to 96 million iPhones in the first half of 2021, a nearly 30% year-on-year increase, Nikkei reported yesterday.It has asked suppliers to produce around 95 million to 96 million iPhones, including the latest iPhone 12 range as well as older iPhone 11 and SE, though shortage of key parts could threaten the target, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.This would mark a 20% rise from 2019 though the target will be regularly reviewed and revised in response to any changes in consumer demand, according to the report.The tentative full-year forecast that the iPhone maker shared with its suppliers suggests it plans to make up to 230 million iPhones in 2021, including both old and new models, the report said. – Nampa/Reuters

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