Business

San Francisco, May 23 (IANS) Entertainment giant Disney has started its third round of layoffs that will affect over 2,500 employees across the board, the media reported.

Although Parks and Resorts remain largely untouched, no particular division is being targeted by pink slips this week, according to Deadline, citing sources.

As part of a cost-cutting measure, the company began removing dozens of titles from its streaming platforms this week.

According to the report, the television division, which was hit hard in the second round of job cuts, is largely spared this time with a small number of layoffs.

Moreover, the report mentioned that the new round of job cuts comes as media companies struggle to deal with the effects of the ongoing writers' strike, which has stopped the development and production of films and television shows.

The first round of layoffs began in March when Disney CEO Bob Iger announced three rounds of layoffs as the company aims to reduce its workforce by around 7,000 workers.

In April, Disney kicked off its second round of layoffs, affecting 4,000 employees.

The entertainment giant revealed in February that it expects to save $5.5 billion as a result of layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.

--IANS
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Cannes, May 19 (IANS) Hollywood star Harrison Ford is officially ready to retire his 'Indiana Jones' character -- the swashbuckling, fedora-wearing adventurer -- a legendary role he has inhabited in five films across 40 years, reports 'Variety'.

"Is it not evident?" the 80-year-old actor joked at the Cannes Film Festival's Friday press conference for the action-adventure. "I need to sit down and rest a little bit."

In returning to the character for one last time, adds 'Variety', Ford expressed a desire to see "a completion of the five films". He added: "I wanted to see the weight of life on him. I wanted to see him require reinvention. I wanted him to have a relationship that wasn't a flirty movie relationship."

Director James Mangold's 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' isn't playing in competition, but it's one of the buzziest premieres at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It marks Ford's return to the festival for the first time since the fourth chapter, 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008), notes 'Variety'.

'Dial of Destiny' premiered on Thursday night at the Palais, where, according to 'Variety', Ford was greeted with a movie star welcome, with thousands of fans screaming his name and the audience inside the theatre showering him with applause.

He also received a tribute award to celebrate his lengthy Hollywood career, ranging from blockbusters such as 'Star Wars' and 'Blade Runner 2049' to 'The Fugitive' and 'Witness'.

"It's indescribable. I felt ... I can't even tell you," an emotional Ford said while reflecting on the prior night. "It's just extraordinary to see a relic of your life as it passes by. With the warmth of this place and sense of community, the welcome is unimaginable. It makes me feel good."

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that it will withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknote from circulation but it will continue as legal tender.

In a statement, the RBI said: "The 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all 500 and 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

"The objective of introducing 2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19," the RBI said.

The RBI said that about 89 per cent of the 2,000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years.

"The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of notes in circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8 per cent of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023," it said.

The RBI also pointed out that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions and further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.

"In view of the above, and in pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation," the RBI said, adding: "The banknotes in 2,000 denomination will continue to be legal tender."

It also said that all banks shall provide deposit and/or exchange facility for 2,000 banknotes until September 30, 2023.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Top Zomato leadership on Friday said that home services is one big market they are exploring to enter and make neighbourhood services like electricians, plumbers, etc. more accessible to customers.

However, according to Deepinder Goyal, Zomato Founder and CEO, "if at all we end up competing with Urban Company at a large scale, we know we are up against a formidable team and a very high-quality business".

Blinkit Founder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa said in the company's Q2 FY23 shareholders' letter that at Zomato, "we run multiple small experiments to find ways in which local economies can benefit from technology, which makes products and services more accessible for customers" and "home services is one such experiment".

However, entering the home services segment "is not a big decision at our end".

"We will keep you updated on the progress here, if any," he noted.

Goyal added that since he was on the board of Urban Company, "I thought it was the right thing for me to step away given we were exploring this space".

They reacted to earlier reports of Zomato aiming to enter the domain of providing home services similar to Urban Company.

Hyperlocal services platform Urban Company's consolidated net loss more than doubled to Rs 514 crore in the financial year 2021-22, from Rs 249.2 crore in FY21.

Its expenses almost doubled to Rs 1,023.3 crore in FY22 from Rs 539 crore in FY21.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Leading travel service provider MakeMyTrip on Tuesday said the gross bookings for fiscal year FY23 grew by 122 per cent (year-on-year) to reach $6.6 billion with adjusted operating profit at $70.3 million, a growth of 203 per cent (YoY) and highest-ever for the company.

The gross Bookings for Q4 grew by 80.7 per cent YoY in constant currency to $1.7 billion. Adjusted operating profit was $19 million in Q4, as compared to $12 million in Q4 FY22.

The company registered $5.4 million profit in Q4 FY23, as compared to a loss of $4.1 million in Q4 FY22.

MakeMyTrip said that the loss for FY23 was $11.2 million as compared to $45.6 million in FY22, being a reduction of $34.4 million.

"We witnessed robust recovery in travel demand with significant improvement in consumer sentiment during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. We capitalized on this trend to deliver strong results with over 120 per cent YoY constant currency growth in gross bookings," said Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.

He said that the strategy of investing in the right areas coupled with "our initiatives to optimise certain costs has helped us to preserve and strengthen our moat".

"We remain well positioned for the next fiscal year with a strong pipeline of product innovation to further enhance customer experience," Magow added.

The online travel company last week collaborated with Microsoft to make travel planning more inclusive and accessible by introducing voice assisted booking in Indian languages.

The new, in-platform tech stack powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Azure Cognitive Services, will converse with the user to offer personalised travel recommendations based on their preferences and curate holiday packages.

--IANS
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Chennai, May 16 (IANS) Indian government-owned Bank of Baroda on Tuesday said it closed FY23 with a net profit of Rs 14,109.62 crore.

In a regulatory filing the bank said for FY23, it had logged a net profit of Rs 14,109.62 crore (FY23 Rs 7,272.28 crore) on a total income of Rs 99,614.38 crore (Rs 81,364.73 crore).

For the period under review, the bank had provided Rs 7,136.90 crore under the head Provisions and Contingencies, down from Rs 13,002.41 crore.

Bank of Baroda had a gross non-performing assets (GNPA) of Rs 36,763.68 crore and a net NPA (NNPA) of Rs 8,384.32 as on March 31, 2023 as against GNPA of Rs 54,059.39 crore and NNPA of Rs 13,364.65 crore as on March 31, 2022.

According to Bank of Baroda, the Board of Directors had recommended a dividend of Rs 5.50 per equity share of Rs.2 each for FY23.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Global telecom carrier Vodafone on Tuesday said it plans to reduce 11,000 jobs over the next three years, with an aim to "simplify" both headquarters and local markets.

Margherita Della Valle, Group Chief Executive, said their performance has not been good enough.

"To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change. My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness," she said in a statement as the company posted its FY23 results.

"We will reallocate resources to deliver the quality service our customers expect and drive further growth from the unique position of Vodafone Business," said Valle who was appointed CEO permanently earlier this month after five months as Nick Read stepped down as CEO in early December.

Vodafone said it has an action plan already underway, focused around three priorities -- significant investment reallocated in FY24 towards customer experience and brand, 11,000 role reductions planned over three years and Germany turnaround plan, continued pricing action and strategic review in Spain.

"We will change the level of ambition, speed and decisiveness of execution. We will have empowered markets focused on customers, scale up Vodafone Business and take out complexity to simplify how we operate," said the company.

The group revenue increased by 0.3 per cent to 45.7 billion euros in FY23 driven by growth in Africa and higher equipment sales, offset by lower European service revenue and adverse exchange rate movements. There was a significant reduction in net debt to 33.4 billion euros.

"We will be a leaner and simpler organisation, to increase our commercial agility and free up resources. We will focus our resources on a portfolio of products and geographies that is right-sized for growth and returns over time," said the company.

--IANS
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Seoul, May 16 (IANS) Automaker Kia will build a new electric vehicle (EV) plant in northern Mexico, a Mexican governor said on Tuesday.

While he did not elaborate on the details, like what models will be manufactured in a new plant, the governor uploaded a photo of Kia's EV9 SUV. He originally said an estimated investment could reach around $1 billion but later deleted the part from the post.

"More good news! Nuevo Leon consolidates as the ELECTROMOBILITY HUB: KIA once again bets on Nuevo Leon with an investment to expand its plant and produce two KIA car models," Samuel Garcia, governor of the northeast state of Nuevo Leon, tweeted earlier in the day.

He was in Seoul for an international forum seeking cooperation between South Korea and Latin America, reports Yonhap news agency.

Kia said it was considering the issue with a mid- to long-term perspective, but that nothing has been fixed yet.

In 2016, Kia opened a 3 million-square-foot plant in Pesqueria, near Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, which also houses education and testing centers. The plant is believed to produce two models -- the K3 sedan and the subcompact Pride -- and manufacture 400,000 units a year.

A new EV plant, which is expected to be built near the existing facility, will allow Kia to become eligible for federal subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which gives up to $7,500 in tax credits to buyers of EVs assembled in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Hyundai Motor, its smaller affiliate Kia and auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. said last month they will collectively make an investment of 24 trillion won (US$17.9 billion) to become the world's No. 3 EV maker in terms of sales by 2030.

Hyundai Motor and Kia aim to sell around 2 million and 1.6 million all-electric vehicles, respectively, by that year.

--IANS
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Mumbai, May 12 (IANS) With the latest official data indicating a cooling off in the headline inflation to 4.7 per cent in April, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that it proves the ‘monetary policy is on the right track, here on Friday.

Terming the official data as a very satisfying development, Das refused to comment if the release of the numbers would lead to change of the policy stance or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) becoming less hawkish.

He preferred to say that all this would be clear on June 8 when the next policy review will come up.

Das was speaking at the launch of the book 'Made In India' by the G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant in Mumbai on Friday evening.

He said the RBI is optimistic and fairly confident over India's 6.5 per cent real GDP growth rate though other analysts have differing views.

The RBI chief pointed out that private investments are picking up and it is visible in sectors like enlisted steel, cement and petrochemicals, among others, and any entrepreneur can testify on the growth momentum of higher sales notched every month.

Das said that if India grows at 6.5 per cent, it would contribute 15 per cent to the world growth during the year, "which is no mean achievement".

Das also stressed the need to continue with reforms, keep accessing the best technology and hike the expenditure on research and development, both in the public and private sectors.

In his book, Kant discusses how the Indian economy has emerged as one of the largest in the world with a vibrant startup ecosystem.

The Indian economy has come a long way since the time economic performance, shacked by Socialist politics and the licence-permit-quota raj, was christened as the ‘Hindu rate of growth'.

Kant has attempted to understand the remarkably robust and resilient growth story of the Indian business and enterprise, in a multi-faceted survey of the country's business heritage and culture.

The book includes accounts of the development of Indian business and enterprise from the pre-Independence era to the present, 75 years post-Independence.

There are inspirational accounts of the top business families or groups like the Tatas, Birlas, Walchand Hirachand Doshi, Wadias, Kirloskars, Shapoorji Pallonji, and the new age entrepreneurs like Sunil Bharti Mittal and Rahul Bhatia.

Also present at the launch were Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak, Nykaa CEO Falguni Nayar.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) Elon Musk on Friday confirmed that Linda Yaccarino, NBC Universal's Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships, will take over as the new CEO of Twitter, making "it the everything app".

"I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter! She will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design and new technology," Musk posted in a fresh tweet.

"Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," he added.

Musk's role will transition to being executive chair and CTO, "overseeing product, software and system operations".

Yaccarino oversees about 2,000 workers in her role, similar to the current strength of Twitter staff after massive sacking by Musk following his $44 billion takeover late last year.

Her team oversees the monetisation strategy for Peacock, the NBC Universal's streaming service.

Yaccarino's team has also generated more than $100 billion in ad sales and entered partnerships with companies, including Apple, Snapchat, BuzzFeed, Twitter and YouTube, according to her bio.

In a Twitter poll last year, Musk had asked his millions of followers: "Should I step down as head of Twitter?"

"I will abide by the results of this poll," he had posted.

The poll amassed more than 17 million votes, with 57.5 per cent of the respondents calling for him to step aside.

However, Musk did not step down.

--IANS
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