WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER11,2019| THEGLOBEANDMAILO B 5
TORONTOA hearing related to a union drive at food
delivery companyFoodorais under way in Toronto and
is expected to have significant implications for workers
and companies in the gig economy.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board is set to hear a
number of issues raised by both couriers looking to
unionize as well as the company – which opposes the
push – including whether couriers are independent con-
tractors or employees, and which couriers should be
eligible to vote in a union drive.
The board hearing comes after a union certification
vote at Foodora in August was challenged, and the re-
sults sealed until the issues at the board are resolved.
Couriers voted on whether to join the Canadian Union
of Postal Workers, which has also filed an unfair labour
practice complaint with the board over claims that Food-
ora Canada spread misinformation during the union
drive.
The treatment of workers in the new gig economy has
become a hot-button issue globally as major players such
as Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and a range of deliv-
ery companies challenge assertions that the people doing
the driving and delivering are employees.
A court in Britain found last year that Uber drivers
should be classified as workers rather than self-employed
contractors, while California legislators are trying to pass
a new law to limit when some companies can label
workers as independent contractors.
ASSOCIATED PRESSONTARIOLABOURBOARDBEGINSHEARING
FORPROPOSEDFOODORAUNIONBoeing Co.handed over around a quarter as many planes
in August as it did a year ago, pushing total deliveries so far
this year down more than 40 per cent, as the worldwide
grounding of its bestselling 737 Max jet enters its seventh
month.
Regular monthly numbers from the U.S. plane maker
showed deliveries totalled 276 aircraft in the eight months
through August, compared with 481 last year.
Chicago-based Boeing has not delivered any of its 737
Max aircraft since the single-aisle plane was grounded
worldwide in March after two fatal crashes in Indonesia
and Ethiopia.
U.S. airlines have removed the grounded jet from their
flight schedules until December or early next year.
The plane maker has said it expects to receive certifica-
tion from the Federal Aviation Administration by October
to put the jets back in the air.
Boeing is still playing catch up with European rival
Airbus SE, which remains ahead with combined deliveries
of 500 aircraft for the first eight months of 2019. Airbus
delivered 207 of its A320neo jets, which competes with the
737 Max.
Net orders after cancellations were a negative 85 aircraft
so far this year for Boeing, compared with 95 for Airbus.
REUTERSBOEINGPLANEDELIVERIESFALLINAUGUST
AS737MAXGROUNDINGENTERSSEVENTHMONTHAlibaba Group Holding Ltd.
founder Jack Ma, who helped
launch China’s online retailing
boom, stepped down as chair-
man of the world’s biggest e-
commerce company Tuesday at a
time when its fast-changing in-
dustry faces uncertainty amid a
U.S.-Chinese tariff war.
Mr. Ma, one of China’s wealth-
iest and best-known entrepre-
neurs, gave up his post on his
55th birthday as part of a succes-
sion announced a year ago. He
will stay on as a member of the
Alibaba Partnership, a 36-mem-
ber group with the right to nomi-
nate a majority of the company’s
board of directors.
Mr. Ma founded Alibaba in
1999 to connect Chinese expor-
ters to American retailers.
The company has shifted focus
to serving China’s growing con-
sumer market and expanded in-
to online banking, entertainment
and cloud computing. Domestic
businesses accounted for 66 per
cent of its US$16.7-billion in reve-
nue in the quarter ending in
June.
Chinese retailing faces uncer-
tainty amid a tariff war that has
raised the cost of U.S. imports.
Growth in online sales deceler-
ated to 17.8 per cent in the first
half of 2019 amid slowing Chi-
nese economic growth, down
from 2018’s full-year rate of 23.
per cent.
Alibaba says its revenue rose
42 per cent over a year earlier in
the quarter ending in June to
US$16.7-billion and profit rose
145 per cent to US$3.1-billion.
Still, that was off slightly from
2018’s full-year revenue growth of
51 per cent.
The total amount of goods
sold across Alibaba’s e-com-
merce platforms rose 25 per cent
last year to US$853-billion. By
comparison, the biggest U.S.
e-commerce company, Amazon-
.com Inc., reported total sales of
US$277-billion.
Alibaba’s vice-chairman, Joe
Tsai, told reporters in May the
company is “on the right side” of
issues in U.S.-Chinese trade talks.
Mr. Tsai said Alibaba stands to
benefit from Beijing’s promise to
increase imports and a growing
consumer market.
Alibaba is one of a group of
companies including Tencent
Holding Ltd., a games and social-
media giant, search engine Bai-
du.com Inc. and e-commerce ri-
val JD.com that have revolution-
ized shopping, entertainment
and consumer services in China.
Alibaba was founded at a time
when few Chinese were online.
As internet use spread, the com-
pany expanded into consumer-
focused retailing and services.
Few Chinese used credit cards, so
Alibaba created the Alipay online
payments system.
The company’s US$25-billion
initial public offering on the New
York Stock Exchange in Septem-
ber, 2014, was the biggest to date
by a Chinese company.
The Hurun Report, which fol-lows China’s wealth, estimates
Mr. Ma’s fortune at US$38-billion.
Mr. Ma’s successor as chair-
man is chief executive Daniel
Zhang, a 12-year veteran of Ali-
baba. He previously was presi-
dent of its consumer-focused
Tmall.com business unit.
Alibaba’s e-commerce busi-
ness spans platforms including
business-to-business Alibaba-
.com, which links foreign buyers
with Chinese suppliers of goods
from furniture to medical tech-
nology, and Tmall, with online
shops for popular brands.
Alipay became a freestanding
financial company, Ant Financial
Services Group, in 2014. Alibaba
also set up its own film studio
and invested in logistics and de-
livery services.
Corporate-governance special-
ists have questioned the Alibaba
Partnership, which gives Mr. Ma
and a group of executives more
control over the company than
shareholders. Mr. Ma has said
that ensures Alibaba focuses on
long-term development instead
of responding to pressure from fi-
nancial markets.ASSOCIATED PRESSALIBABAGROUP (BABA)
CLOSE: US$174.99, DOWN US$2.Alibabafounderstepsdown
Masettoremainwith
company’sPartnership
group,whichgives
executivesmorepower
thanshareholders
JOEMcDONALDBEIJING
Alibaba’sJackMa,seenatasummitinParisinMay,foundedthe
companyin1999toconnectChineseexporterswithAmericanretailers.
CHARLESPLATIAU/REUTERSREPORTONBUSINESS|