Twoafros

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21371247

German carmaker warns of stagnation in the European sector amid news of deeper-than-expected action

The German carmaker Volkswagen is planning to shut at least three factories in its home country, lay off thousands of workers and cut pay by 10%, according to the company’s union.

The deeper-than-expected cuts come as the company faces weak sales and slow expansion in the electric vehicle (EV) sector amid tough competition from Chinese manufacturers.

“The board wants to close at least three factories in Germany,” the works council chief, Daniela Cavallo, told employees at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg on Monday. Its remaining manufacturing sites will reduce capacity, she said, citing information provided by management.

As Europe’s top economy suffers a crisis in manufacturing and fears of mass unemployment, VW is aiming for a fundamental restructuring to cut costs. It had initially warned last month that it had the equivalent of two factories of extra capacity in Germany.

The Trudeau government will announce plans for a high-speed train linking Quebec City and Toronto in the coming weeks, Radio-Canada has learned.

Proponents of the project hope the train will take passengers from Montreal to Toronto in three hours. By car, it takes about five-and-a-half hours to travel between the two cities.

Sources told Radio-Canada the train will travel 300 kilometres per hour — double the speed of Via Rail's current trains.

Ottawa announced plans back in 2021 to build what it called a "high-frequency" (HFR) rail corridor with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Laval and Quebec City. Sources told Radio-Canada the federal government has now decided the Toronto-Quebec City link will be high-speed.

The train would use a newly built, separate electrified track and run frequently. In addition to Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto, it would serve Trois-Rivières, Laval, Ottawa and Peterborough.

Non paywall article:

From the article: https://archive.is/FKuOF

Bangladesh’s new central bank chief has accused tycoons linked to the toppled regime of Sheikh Hasina of working with members of the country’s powerful military intelligence agency to siphon $17bn out of the banking sector during her rule.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ahsan Mansur — who was appointed Bangladesh Bank governor after Sheikh Hasina fled the country in June — said the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence had helped force takeovers of leading banks.

Mansur said an estimated Tk2tn ($16.7bn) had been spirited out of Bangladesh after the bank takeovers, using methods such as loans made to their new shareholders and inflated import invoices.

“This is the biggest, highest robbing of banks by any international standards,” he said. “It didn’t happen on that scale anywhere, and it was state-sponsored and it couldn’t have happened without intelligence people putting guns [to former bank CEOs’] heads.”

The governor said Mohammed Saiful Alam, founder and chair of industrial conglomerate S Alam, and his associates had “siphoned off” at least $10bn “as a minimum” from the banking system after taking control of banks with the help of the DGFI. “Every day they were granting loans to themselves,” he said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21355499

Link to original Financial Times page: https://www.ft.com/content/0b295e1e-a0bf-40e0-88f2-99c1ace8603d

From the article:

Bangladesh’s new central bank chief has accused tycoons linked to the toppled regime of Sheikh Hasina of working with members of the country’s powerful military intelligence agency to siphon $17bn out of the banking sector during her rule.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ahsan Mansur — who was appointed Bangladesh Bank governor after Sheikh Hasina fled the country in June — said the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence had helped force takeovers of leading banks.

Mansur said an estimated Tk2tn ($16.7bn) had been spirited out of Bangladesh after the bank takeovers, using methods such as loans made to their new shareholders and inflated import invoices.

“This is the biggest, highest robbing of banks by any international standards,” he said. “It didn’t happen on that scale anywhere, and it was state-sponsored and it couldn’t have happened without intelligence people putting guns [to former bank CEOs’] heads.”

The governor said Mohammed Saiful Alam, founder and chair of industrial conglomerate S Alam, and his associates had “siphoned off” at least $10bn “as a minimum” from the banking system after taking control of banks with the help of the DGFI. “Every day they were granting loans to themselves,” he said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21202408

From the article:

Boeing workers on the West Coast of the United States have voted to reject the aircraft giant’s latest contract offer and extend their nearly six-week strike.

Nearly two-thirds of workers rejected the offer, which included a 35 percent wage rise over four years but did not restore a defined pension plan sought by many employees, the Seattle branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said on X.

About 33,000 workers have been on strike since mid-September when union members overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s proposal for a new four-year contract.

On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6bn.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21202408

From the article:

Boeing workers on the West Coast of the United States have voted to reject the aircraft giant’s latest contract offer and extend their nearly six-week strike.

Nearly two-thirds of workers rejected the offer, which included a 35 percent wage rise over four years but did not restore a defined pension plan sought by many employees, the Seattle branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said on X.

About 33,000 workers have been on strike since mid-September when union members overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s proposal for a new four-year contract.

On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6bn.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21202408

From the article:

Boeing workers on the West Coast of the United States have voted to reject the aircraft giant’s latest contract offer and extend their nearly six-week strike.

Nearly two-thirds of workers rejected the offer, which included a 35 percent wage rise over four years but did not restore a defined pension plan sought by many employees, the Seattle branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said on X.

About 33,000 workers have been on strike since mid-September when union members overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s proposal for a new four-year contract.

On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6bn.

From the article:

Boeing workers on the West Coast of the United States have voted to reject the aircraft giant’s latest contract offer and extend their nearly six-week strike.

Nearly two-thirds of workers rejected the offer, which included a 35 percent wage rise over four years but did not restore a defined pension plan sought by many employees, the Seattle branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said on X.

About 33,000 workers have been on strike since mid-September when union members overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s proposal for a new four-year contract.

On Wednesday, the company reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6bn.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/26440261

Samsung India: government files cases against 625 employees and union activists during strike for union recognition, higher wages, and 8-hour workday

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/26440834

Italy: hooded attackers target leatherworkers on picket line, employees from other firms strike in solidarity

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20694419

Major overhaul of workers' rights to be outlined

Full article:

*The News

The Ethiopian parliament approved a new president to replace one that was widely seen as controversial amid ongoing political differences with the government.

Sahle-Work Zewde, a former United Nations diplomat, was replaced with Taye Atskeselassie who has held the position of foreign minister for the last eight months.

Know More

The role of president is largely ceremonial in Ethiopia, with limited political authority. Executive power is mainly wielded by the prime minister. Sahle-Work became Ethiopia’s first female president in 2018.

The outgoing president was appointed during the early years of the Abiy Ahmed premiership that saw prominent women appointed in important positions as part of an administration that sought to embrace gender parity for the first time.

In a post on X on Sunday that pressaged her impending resignation, she quoted a famous Amharic song about hopelessness and silence being the only option, stating: “I tried that for a whole year.”

Samuel’s view [the Journalist's view]

While the position of president is symbolic, Sahle-Work’s appointment was seen as groundbreaking. It was hoped she would bring a positive influence to a position usually held by male politicians at the end of their career.

But her tenure coincided with bloody conflicts — first the two-year war in the northern Tigray region, which ended in 2022, and then fighting in the neighboring Amhara region.

Sahle-Work faced heavy criticism for her silence, especially on issues of gender violence during the Tigray war in which thousands of people were killed and millions displaced. More that 120,000 women were sexually abused in the conflict, according to estimates by Genocide Watch, a non-governmental organization.*