Profits of doom
»»Big tech four are €2trillion better off since first lockdown »»Sales boom for online giants amid high street slump
FOUR of the biggest tech titans have soared €2trillion in value since the start of the pandemic.
While small firms go bust and families struggle to feed their kids, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google’s parent company Alphabet have boomed.
Max Lawson of Oxfam said: “Make no mistake: this is an inequality virus.”
Amazon had €104billion sales in three months. Its UK sales alone soared 51% to €22billion last year, making us the firm’s third-biggest market after the US and Germany.
The results did not reveal how much corporation tax it paid here.
It came as billionaire founder Jeff Bezos announced he was stepping down as chief executive after 27 years, to become executive chairman.
His fortune has risen by over €57billion to €159billion during the pandemic. The GMB union said his change of role hands a “historic opportunity” for successor Andy Jassy to improve working culture amid claims of poor conditions in warehouses.
Apple enjoyed €92billion quarterly sales. Its stock market value is up nearly €1trillion since March. Facebook’s quarterly sales rose 33% to €22billion.
It said over 3.3 billion people now use one of its services, which include Instagram and Whatsapp. Quarterly sales at Alphabet – Google’s holding company
– rose 44% to €46billion.
A report last year named Apple, Google and Facebook as among five big tech firms accused of avoiding a €1.47billion UK tax bill. Tax Watch UK claimed they used “complex financial structures” to pay a “fraction of the corporation tax they should”. The firms deny wrongdoing.
Apple said at the time: “We pay all that we owe according to tax laws and local customs.”
Amazon has refused to reveal exactly how much UK corporation tax it pays but said it paid €332million in “direct” taxes in 2019, up from €224million in 2018.
Analysis by the Mirror found the combined stock market value of 10 big tech firms is up €3.2trillion since mid-march. The UK’S debt has risen to €2.4trillion.
Firms soaring in the pandemic include online fashion giants Boohoo and ASOS, both criticised in the past for their alleged treatment of workers. ASOS, whose sales in the last four months of 2020 rose 23% to €1.2bn, this week bought Topshop and three other brands after the collapse of Philip Green’s Arcadia empire. Because it did not want its stores, 2,500 jobs are expected to go.
Boohoo is in talks to buy some of Arcadia’s other brands, after snapping up the Debenhams website late last month. It raked in €1.7bn between September and December – up 42%.
Boohoo was in the spotlight last year over accusations of sweatshop conditions at a Leicester supplier. It apologised and hired a former judge to probe an overhaul of its supply chain dealings.
Ocado’s share price more than doubled in the past year. Boss Tim Steiner was paid €66.5million in 2019 thanks to a one-off bonus – 2,605 times the average €25,500 paid to staff, said the High Pay Centre.
TUC chief Frances O’grady said: “The companies made these profits because of the hard work of their staff. These profits must bring them pay rises and improvements to working conditions.”
These profits must bring pay rises and improvements to working conditions for staff FRANCES O’GRADY UNION CHIEF ON FIRMS SOARING IN PANDEMIC