Company news in brief

Daimler to list trucks businessGerman luxury carmaker Daimler is preparing a stock market listing of its trucks division, business newspaper Handelsblatt reported, citing company sources.The unit could be floated at the end of 2021, the sources said, adding division head Martin Daum is likely to get an early extension of his contract by three years as part of the plans.Daimler was not immediately available for comment.Rival Volkswagen last year listed its trucks unit Traton to put the business on an independent footing. – Nampa/ReutersUnilever expands deal with Burger KingUnilever Plc said yesterday it had expanded its partnership with Burger King to supply its plant-based meat patties for Whopper burgers at restaurants in Latin America, the Caribbean and China.The product, which will be called the Plant-based Whopper on menus, is made using patties from Vegetarian Butcher, a company Unilever acquired in 2019.The deal is an expansion of the Dove soap to Hellmann's mayonnaise maker's partnership with the fast-food chain that started last year with the launch of the Rebel Whopper burger in Europe, Burger King's biggest ever product launch in the region.Burger King sells several meat-free versions of its popular Whopper burger, including one from Impossible Meats in the United States.Unilever said the Plant-based Whopper would appear on menus in 325 Burger King outlets in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou in China, with plans to expand its rollout nationwide in the second quarter of 2021. – Nampa/ReutersAmerican Airlines begins return of workersAmerican Airlines is beginning the phased return of furloughed workers after the US Congress passed a pandemic aid package with US$15 billion in payroll support for airlines, its executives said in a staff memo on Tuesday.Air passenger traffic is down by about 70% versus a year ago as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the travel industry. US airlines furloughed tens of thousands of employees when an initial US$25 billion in federal payroll support that banned job cuts expired in October.United Airlines executives warned on Monday that its recall of furloughed employees after the fresh aid would be "temporary," saying "we just don't see anything in the data that shows a huge difference in bookings over the next few months."American said the relief would help airlines serve passengers once the pandemic subsides, and in the nearer term, aid in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and other critical supplies.American, which has furloughed nearly 19 000 employees since October, stands to receive roughly US$3 billion from the payroll package, one person briefed on the matter said. – Nampa/ReutersApple share gain dwarfs GMShares in Apple Inc jumped more than 3% on Tuesday, adding more than General Motors' entire market capitalisation to the value of the iPhone maker on signs it was planning to move forward swiftly with electric car production.Sources told Reuters on Monday that Apple, whose automotive efforts had proceeded unevenly since 2014, was now targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that would include its own breakthrough battery technology.The news hit shares of Tesla Inc and sent those in a number of current or potential partners for the California-based technology giant spinning higher."If Apple has achieved a battery breakthrough, this could serve as a driver to finally move forward with production given battery costs are one of the main obstacles to mass adoption of EVs," Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani wrote.Apple's shares were last up 2.9% at US$131.9, on track to add more than US$62 billion to its market valuation. General Motors Co is worth around US$58 billion at its current share price. – Nampa/ReutersHyundai buys GM's car plantSouth-Korean automaker Hyundai Motor has completed the acquisition of a General Motors factory in Russia's St. Petersburg, Hyundai spokeswoman Yulia Tikhonravova told reporters at an online conference on Tuesday.The GM factory with a capacity of up to 100 000 cars per year was built in Shushary in the suburbs of St. Petersburg in 2008 but closed in 2015 as part of GM's decision to reduce its international operations.The deal was closed in early November, Tikhonravova said, adding that it was too early to say when production would start due to the pandemic.Hyundai and its partner Kia already have a factory in Russia with a manufacturing capacity of more than 200 000 vehicles per year. The two carmakers sold more than 400 000 vehicles in Russia last year.The Association of European Businesses (AEB), which tracks sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia, expects the country's car market to fall by 13.5% to 1.522 million vehicles this year. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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