GM's VP hire from Apple another step for software development
Bringing in outside tech talent makes sense for GM, which is focused on building consumer-facing technology that is appealing and easy to use, an analyst said.
Pilots at United picket for higher pay as pressure builds before summer travel season
By DAVID KOENIG (AP Airlines Writer)
DALLAS (AP) — Just ahead of what could be a record-breaking summer travel season, pilots from one of the nation’s biggest airlines marched in picket lines at major airports on Friday as they push for higher pay.
The United Airlines pilots have been working without a raise for more than four years while negotiating with airline management over a new contract.
The pilots are unlikely to strike anytime soon, however. Federal law makes it very difficult for unions to conduct strikes in the airline industry, and the last walkout at a U.S. carrier was more than a decade ago.
The coast-to-coast protests by United pilots come on the heels of overwhelming strike-authorization votes by pilots at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. United pilots could be the next to vote, according to union officials.
Pilots at all three carriers are looking to match or beat the deal that Delta Air Lines reached with its pilots earlier this year, which raised pay rates by 34% over four years.
Twitter’s new CEO is an NBCUniversal executive with deep ad industry ties
By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and BARBARA ORTUTAY (AP Technology Writers)
Elon Musk confirmed that the new CEO for Twitter will be NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the advertising industry.
“I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk wrote in a Friday tweet. He added that Yaccarino “will focus primarily on business operations” while Musk will stay closely connected to product design and new technology.
Before that announcement, NBCUniversal said Friday that Yaccarino would step down immediately as chairwoman for global advertising and partnerships.
Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted that he would step down as top executive at the company, which is now called X Corp.
Few expect Musk to remove himself from the decision making process at Twitter, however.
“While he’s stepping back from the CEO title, Musk is far from likely to step back from calling the product shots,” said Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester Research.
Comptroller Diamond warns about tourist tax ‘roller coaster’
With hopeful applicants –– including a group that wants to bring big-league baseball to Orlando –– lining up for a share of tourist tax funding, Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond instead used a theme-park attraction Friday to describe the ups-and-downs of the levy currently on a 14-month record run.
A statistic graph showed the line of revenues undulating like a roller-coaster, rising in good times but dropping after the 9/11 terror attacks, dipping in 2009 spurred the Great Recession, and plummeting in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That’s a little bit less of a roller-coaster and a little more Tower of Terror,” said Diamond, suggesting the Hollywood Studios thrill ride was a more apt comparison for the revenue plunge blamed on the recent pandemic.
Diamond, the county’s elected fiscal watchdog, used the analogy to help a citizens task force understand the volatility of the 6% tax added to the cost of a hotel room or other short-term lodging.
The tax raked in $336 million in fiscal year 2021-22, the most ever, and $39 million in March.
U.S. demands recall of 67 million airbag inflators
NHTSA demanded the recall of 67 million airbag inflators because it believes there is a safety defect, but auto supplier ARC Automotive rejected the U.S. regulator’s request.