Hiring slowdown: Companies are cutting back on hiring plans

10/4/22 8:00PM

New data out yesterday showed that job openings in the US fell by more than 1.1 million in August. That's the second largest monthly decline in two decades, only eclipsed by the 1.2 million drop in April 2020.

‍Cooling off

‍After almost 18 months in which companies have been struggling to fill positions, with more job openings than people unemployed, US employers seem to be freezing up. Indeed, you don't have to look far to see the real-world evidence of this data. Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the country, announced yesterday that they were freezing hiring for corporate roles in their retail division for the rest of the year. Other companies to have declared some kind of hiring freeze recently include; Tesla, Netflix, Robinhood, Lyft, Ford and Meta.

‍The good news is that although job openings fell, the job vacancy to unemployed ratio is still high at 1.7, which on any historical comparison would still make 2022 a job-seekers market.

Max Knoblauch16h

Paramount reportedly receives $24 billion from Gulf funds to back its Warner Bros. takeover

Three Middle East sovereign wealth funds have agreed to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of roughly $24 billion, according to Wall Street Journal reporting.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

Exclusive | Gulf Funds Agree to Back Paramount’s $81 Billion Takeover of Warner

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Hyunsoo Rim

appy birthday

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Apple is turning 50 today and it doesn’t look a thing like its younger self

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The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.