Financial Mail

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1. Nestlé’s savings push

Swiss food group Nestlé plans to cut up to 400 jobs in France in support services and HQ functions, as it seeks to slash costs and boost efficiency. It employs 13,000 people in the region. The country is Nestlé’s largest market in Europe by sales. Nestlé in September said it would cut 450 out of 550 jobs at its Galderma skin-care research centre near Nice on the French Riviera.

2. Not buying it

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (who owns two Model S Tesla cars) told an audience at the Nordic Business Forum in Sweden that he has stopped believing what Elon Musk or Tesla promises. Wozniak cited several promises Tesla has made that he believes have not been kept. He also said the company uses cheap tactics to deflect responsibi­lity for mistakes. Meow.

3. Amazon hits record

Amazon Inc reported a profit of nearly Us$2bn — the largest in its history — as the online juggernaut drew millions of new customers to its Prime fastshippi­ng offering for the Christmas season and as changes to US tax law added to its bottom line. Net income more than doubled to $1.86bn, or $3.75 a share, in the fourth quarter ended December 31.

4. Uber takes a bet on electric bikes

Ride-hailing company Uber, in partnershi­p with Jump, a bike-share start-up, will soon add a bike option to its app, which will let users in San Francisco find and reserve dockless e-bikes. The collaborat­ion will allow San Francisco residents to find a nearby bike, reserve it and then return it to any public rack close to their destinatio­n.

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