📱 The big gig shakeup

The gig is up… Yesterday the Labor Department announced a proposal that could classify millions of gig workers (think: delivery drivers, janitors, and home-care aides) as employees rather than independent contractors. Over a third of US workers have performed freelance labor in the past year — and low-income Americans disproportionately rely on gig work. The rule would guide judges and companies, and will be formally published on Thursday, kicking off a 45-day public-comment period (with the final rule expected next year). Why it’s big:

• For workers: Being misclassified as a contractor means fewer labor protections and potential wage theft. But some business lobbying groups argue that a broad rule would hurt workers who want to have flexible hours and stay independent.
• For employers: Reclassifying workers as employees would mean higher spending, since hiring contractors can cut labor costs by up to 30%. But the majority of gig workers say they’d prefer not to be gig workers.

Eyes on the road… App drivers are synonymous with the gig economy, and Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash shares sank after the news. Refresher: in 2019 California legislators passed AB5, a landmark bill that reclassified many of the state’s app-based gig workers as employees. App giants have spent over $200M lobbying for their drivers to be exempt under Prop 22, which passed but was later declared unconstitutional.

EVs were just the start… General Motors has plans to expand its battery biz. Yesterday the auto giant said it’s launching a unit called GM Energy that’ll sell “energy management” products, like batteries and solar panels. GM’s investing billions in EV tech as part of its plan to produce only electric cars, like the Chevy Bolt and the Hummer EV, by 2035. But it may’ve found another use for its tech:

• Hard + soft: GM Energy will sell hardware (think: home batteries and solar panels) and software (think: tech to link EVs and homes to energy grids) starting next year. Its software could help companies manage efficient charging for entire EV fleets.
• Home + office: GM is making energy products for individuals and businesses. You could use its batteries and panels to keep the lights on during outages or make $$ selling extra solar energy to the grid.

Not exactly leading the charge… GM isn’t the first automaker to enter the energy-management industry, estimated to be a $125B to $250B market. Tesla launched its energy-storage division, Powerwall, in 2015 — and last quarter the home-battery biz raked in $866M in revenue. And in June Toyota began selling its residential battery system to customers in Japan.

• Oh: Thousands of US exec-branch officials owned or traded shares of companies that were simultaneously lobbying their agencies for favorable policies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Read: officials could influence the stocks’ moves.
• Heli: Delta’s investing $60M in electric-air-taxi startup Joby Aviation as part of a deal that’ll let travelers take flights to their flights (and avoid the airport Uber). American and United have also invested in air taxis.
• BAYC: The SEC’s investigating whether Bored Ape Club creator Yuga Labs violated federal law with its cartoon ape NFT sales, Bloomberg reported. Regulators are also examining whether its ApeCoin is a security.
• Packed: In a sneak peek, American Airlines said its quarterly sales likely came in stronger than forecast (up 13% from 2019). American flew 10% less than prepandemic, but sky-high prices apparently made up for it.
• Kidz: “Cocomelon” isn’t the only star in the kiddie-verse: Lego owner Kirkbi is splurging $875M on Brainpop, which produces educational animated videos. Lego says it wants to help kids learn through play.

• Earnings expected from Wipro

Authors of this Snacks own: shares of Delta, Ford, Google, GM, Uber, and Tesla

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