Corporate

General Motors will cut production and eliminate 1,100 workers at a plant in Michigan as it shifts production of a sport utility vehicle model to another factory in Tennessee. Most are hourly workers, with about 14 salaried.

The Lansing Delta Township plant will cease output of GMC Acadia SUVs on May 12, Tom Wickham. About 800 new jobs were created in that state as a result – and GM announced in January that it was adding a third shift in Spring Hill.

High-end Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company Lindt & Sprüngli grew at a faster pace than the overall chocolate market last year, according to the company’s latest financial results.

Although the group is at the top end of the market, which would give it some margin for manoeuvre on prices, the race to cut costs within the industry still took its toll.

At least 180 companies have already declared their interest in working with President Trump to build his proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, just three days after the government announced the contract bidding process was open.

More companies will likely signal interest in competing for President Donald Trump’s massive border wall project, but 180 construction and engineering firms from across the U.S. registered to submit a bid for the contract as of Monday evening.

After many months of rumors, YouTube has officially announced its entry into streaming live TV. YouTube TV will let you access live and recorded content from major networks, both the big broadcast players as well as some options typically found on cable.
"Half the cost of cable with zero commitments" said the announcement. For $35 a month, YouTube TV will include live streaming of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and about 30 of the biggest cable TV channels.

If you find yourself stifling yawns and counting down the minutes on the clock every single day that you’re in work, it could be because you work in one of the world’s most boring jobs.
A list of the 10 most boring jobs was released by employment specialist Emolument, that asked 1300 workers across 14 sectors if they were bored at work.

Law professionals are the least upbeat employees, with 80% saying they were bored at work, and chief executives were just as bored as junior employees. Being legally bored was put down to the repetitiveness of researching cases and rulings in a junior lawyer’s working week.

French drugmaker Sanofi and Swiss manufacturer Lonza, a supplier to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life-science industries, announced Monday that they have entered into a strategic partnership to establish a large-scale biologics production facility in Switzerland. The initial investment will be around 290 million Swiss francs (€270 million), to be split equally between each company.

Pending regulatory approvals, the facility, through a 50-50 joint venture, will be located in Visp, Switzerland, Sanofi and Lonza said in a joint statement. The initial phase of the facility will commence construction in 2017, it is expected to be fully operational by 2020.

Panasonic Corporation President Kazuhiro Tsuga has instructed his employees in Japan to limit their overtime work to 80 hours or less per month, on January 31 with the instruction, which was effective from that day.

Company officials said the directive is aimed at reminding staff that they should concentrate on efficiency rather than working long hours.

Apart from the call to leave work by 8 p.m., the directive also recommends limiting overtime to a maximum of 80 hours a month for all staff, including managers, department heads and division chiefs.

Staff at Lloyd’s of London, the insurance market in the City, have enjoyed a tipple during the day ever since it opened in 1688, but now a 9-to-5 alcohol ban has been drafted in – after roughly half of employee disciplining cases were found linked to alcohol in the last two years, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Newly updated employee guidelines provide “clarification on the rules around alcohol consumption, which is prohibited during business hours. The guidance removes any ambiguity on the policy,” a Lloyd’s of London spokesman said in a statement.

According to The Financial Times, its 800 workers have been told the hours between 9am and 5pm must be strictly dry. It is traditional for traders working in that area to gather around Leadenhall Market to make contacts and probe deals over a pint.