Day: June 26, 2020

‘Employment lawyers are going to have a field day’: Business leaders grapple with how to reopen

wayne June 26, 2020

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Business leaders across the country are wrestling with how to reopen their offices and change operations as the virus continues to spread, according to executives who spoke at Fortune’s Future of Work webinar on Thursday.

“A lot of employment lawyers are going to have a field day with this puppy,’ said Ray Wang, principal analyst, founder, and chairman of Silicon Valley–based Constellation Research. To reduce risks to companies and workers’ health, Wang recommended giving employees choices and flexibility on when and how often they’ll be in the office.

Wang was joined in the discussion by director of the Wharton School’s Center for Human Resources Peter Cappelli; Domo founder and CEO Josh James; and Accenture chief leadership and human resources officer Ellyn Shook. The event was moderated by Fortune senior editor Kristen Bellstrom.

The speakers agreed that companies need to be cautious and listen to the evolving coronavirus findings coming from the health community. But it takes more than just smart return policies: It also requires transparency, Shook said. Accenture, she noted, has created a portal that …

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wayne June 26, 2020

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Amazon to buy self-driving technology company Zoox

wayne June 26, 2020

Amazon has just taken its boldest step yet into self-driving vehicles, acquiring six-year-old start-up Zoox, the company announced Friday.

Amazon said the deal will help bring Zoox’s “vision of autonomous ride-hailing to reality.” Zoox will continue to operate as a standalone business within Amazon, with CEO Aicha Evans and Jesse Levinson, the company’s co-founder and CTO, continuing to lead the team, Amazon said. 

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the Financial Times previously reported that Amazon would pay more than $1.2 billion to acquire Zoox. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment. 

“Zoox is working to imagine, invent, and design a world-class autonomous ride-hailing experience,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s CEO of global consumer, in a statement. “Like Amazon, Zoox is passionate about innovation and about its customers, and we’re excited to help the talented Zoox team to bring their vision to reality in the years ahead.”

Shares of Amazon moved slightly higher following the news. 

It’s a large deal for Amazon, which acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017 but has otherwise generally made acquisitions of less than $1 billion. With regulators bearing down on Amazon’s every move because of its dominance in e-commerce and treatment of warehouse

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How businesses can help fix the racial wealth gap

wayne June 26, 2020

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.

The racial wealth gap in the United States is staggering.

In 2016, white families had an average net worth of $171,000; Black families averaged a net worth of $17,150—almost exactly one-tenth of their white counterparts’. That divide can make all the difference in education, health care, professional opportunities, and more, studies show.

As the nation reckons with its treatment of Black people following the police killing of George Floyd, business leaders are examining ways to reduce the wealth gap amid the coronavirus pandemic that has contributed to a 41% decline in the number of Black business owners from February to April. White business owners, meanwhile, saw just a 17% decline during the same period.

This disparity was the topic of discussion at Thursday’s Fortune Bold virtual conference, in partnership with McKinsey & Co., and moderated by senior editor Ellen McGirt. Joining her was John Rogers, chairman, co-CEO, and chief investment officer of Ariel Investments, and Lareina Yee, senior partner and head of diversity and inclusion at McKinsey. The question at hand: How can businesses help reduce …

Amazon dominates e-commerce during the pandemic—but Walmart is catching up

wayne June 26, 2020

The pandemic, and Americans’ turn to e-commerce during it, have hastened the death of brick-and-mortar. J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, JCPenney, and Pier 1 Imports have all announced their file for bankruptcy since the onset of the virus. 

E-commerce isn’t just growing during the pandemic—it’s exploding. Around 1 in 2 U.S. adults increased their online buying levels during the pandemic, finds a Fortune-Civis Analytics poll conducted between May 22-27 among 2,045 U.S. adults. This surge in online shopping appears to be speeding up the trajectory for e-commerce by years.

Before the pandemic hit, Target and Walmart were already plowing billions of dollars into e-commerce investments in an attempt to catch up with Amazon. While the Seattle-based e-commerce juggernaut leads online sales during the pandemic, Walmart and Target have further solidified their No. 2 and No. 3 spots.  

Walmart and Target have each expanded their customer base beyond those who purchased from them during the 2019 holiday season. A total of 28% of U.S. adults bought from Walmart during the past holiday season, and 18% from Target, according to a Fortune-SurveyMonkey poll conducted in January. Since the onset of the pandemic, 41% and 23% of U.S. adults have …

As the U.S. sees record coronavirus cases, the ECB’s Lagarde says the worst is over in Europe

wayne June 26, 2020

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be “restrained” and will change parts of the economy permanently.

While the worst of the crisis might be over, it’ll take time for the “phenomenal” jump in savings to trickle into higher investment and spending, she said in a webinar on Friday. The recovery will also be “incomplete” as trade is unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels and productivity may be weaker.

“We probably have passed the lowest point, and I say that with some trepidation,” Lagarde said. “The airline industries, the hospitality industries, the entertainment industries are going to come out of that recovery process in a different shape, and some of them will probably be hurt irremediably.”

Her remarks follow comments from ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane, who cautioned earlier this week that early signs of economic improvement may not be a good guide to the speed and robustness of the recovery.

The ECB has rolled out a 1.35 trillion-euro ($1.52 trillion) emergency bond-buying program and a suite of other tools including cheaper and looser financing for banks to help steer Europe out of the deepest peacetime recession in almost a century.

Lagarde noted the “massive” …