U.N. raises estimate of job losses to 305M
The United Nations’ main labor body is again raising its prediction of job losses due to the pandemic. It is estimating the equivalent of 305 million full-time jobs could be lost in the second quarter, up from a prior estimate for the equivalent of 195 million full-time job losses.
• Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is furloughing about 20 percent of its workforce through the end of July after the coronavirus pandemic prompted the cruise industry to stop sailing. The furloughs affect shoreside U.S. workers and some international offices, according to an emailed statement Wednesday. Like Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Norwegian stopped new sailings in mid-March amid growing concerns about the safety of cruising during the pandemic.
• Volvo Cars will lay off 1,300 white-collar employees in Sweden, with the carmaker saying it needs to step up its shift to new products and business models amid the coronavirus pandemic. Volvo reopened its factories in Sweden last week after an almost monthlong shutdown.
• Juul Labs Inc. is preparing to cut 25 percent to 40 percent of its workforce, according to a person familiar with the matter, in the latest round of layoffs at the e-cigarette company. The San Francisco-based company currently employs about 3,000 people after slashing about 650
jobs late last year. It could cut between 800 to 950 people in the latest round, the person said. Juul is downsizing amid scrutiny from regulators and shrinking sales.
• TripAdvisor Inc. is cutting a quarter of its workforce and closing offices in San Francisco and Boston in a bid to shrink costs as the coronavirus pandemic decimates travel. The Massachusetts-based company is eliminating 600 positions in the U.S. and 300 people in other offices around the world. Most remaining employees will be forced to take a 20 percent salary cut and be reduced to fourday work weeks for three months starting June 1.
• Lyft Inc. plans to lay off 17 percent of its employees, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company told staff about the cuts in an email on Wednesday. Five percent of workers will be furloughed, and remaining employees will take a pay cut. Executive pay will be reduced by up to 30 percent; pay for other workers will be reduced 10 percent.
• Uber Chief Technology Officer Thuan Pham is stepping down after seven years at the company. Uber Technologies Inc. has been hit hard as global transportation has ground to a virtual standstill. The company may also be mulling job cuts of as much as 20 percent, according to tech news site the Information. Uber, which is unprofitable, cut more than 1,100 jobs last year.