WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 The Boston Globe Business B
TALKING POINTS
INDUSTRY Agenda
AIM HAS NEW
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
HEAD
Associated Industries of Massachusetts has found a new government affairs chief to take
over for John Regan, who was promoted to be the employer organization’s CEO in May.
Brooke Thomson, most recently a vice president of government affairs for AT&T, will join
the AIM team on Sept. 23 as executive vice president of government affairs. (Thomson has
also been on AIM’s board of directors since 2015 but will step down before joining the staff.)
Thomson previously joined AT&T in 2013, and has been handling legislative and regulatory
affairs for the telecom giant in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Before taking that job,
Thomson worked for six years in the state attorney general’s office. — JON CHESTORETAIL
TARGET TO HIRE MORE
THAN 130,000 PEOPLE
FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Target plans to hire more than
130,000 people for the busy holiday
shopping season, a 4 percent in-
crease from a year ago. The retailer
said Tuesday that most of new hires
will work at one of its 1,800 stores,
where they will stock shelves or
check people out at the register.
About 8,000 of the jobs are for its 39
distribution center across the coun-
try, where they’ll pack, ship and
load online orders. Retailers will
likely have a tough time attracting holiday help again this year. Unemployment is near a 50-
year low, and people can be pickier about where they work. Target said it will pay workers
$13 an hour this year, a dollar more an hour than last year. And the Minneapolis-based
company said it will hold hiring events at all its 1,800 stores on Oct. 11 to 13, and again
from Nov. 2 to 3. Earlier this week, package delivery company UPS said it plans to hire
100 ,0 00 seasonalworkers,aboutthesameamountaslastyear.—ASSOCIATEDPRESSRIDE HAILING
UBER FIRING 435
EMPLOYEES AFTER
QUARTERLY LOSS
OF MORE THAN $5B
Uber Technologies Inc. is dismissing 435 employees, the second major staff cut this sum-
mer, as the company faces mounting losses and adeclining stock price. The eliminated jobs
are in the product and engineering divisions, representing about 8 percent of those groups.
Uber said it was firing about 400 marketing employees, about a third of that department, in
July. Four months after Uber went public, the stock is trading about 25 percent below the
initial public offering price. Last month,the ride-hailing company reported its largest-ever
quarterly loss of $5.24 billion. — BLOOMBERG NEWSFAST FOOD
MCDONALD’S BUYS
VOICE RECOGNITION
STARTUP TO
POTENTIALLY
AUTOMATE
THE DRIVE-THROUGH
McDonald’s Corp. is making a bet it can automate the task
of taking drive-through orders. The world’s biggest restau-
rant company is buying startup Apprente Inc., a developer
of voice-recognition technology for use in the restaurant in-
dustry, to help speed up lines. The idea is to eventually
have a machine, instead of a person, on the other side of
the intercom to relay orders to kitchen staff. In Chicago-ar-
ea restaurants where the system is already being tested,
employees still oversee drive-through order-taking and can
step in when needed. — BLOOMBERG NEWSOFFICE SPACE
WEWORK AND ITS
LARGEST INVESTOR
TALK ABOUT PERHAPS
SHELVING ITS IPO
Executives of WeWork and its largest investor, SoftBank, are discussing whether to shelve
plans for an initial public offering of the money-losing co-working company, said people
with knowledge of the talks. SoftBank is pressing WeWork to postpone the stock offering
after investors expressed serious concerns about the business and its corporate governance,
said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
WeWork, which owns or leases office space and then rents it to companies typically needing
short-term space, had planned to hold a roadshow to promote the offering as soon as this
week, an executive told analysts last week. Representatives for SoftBank and We Co., the
parent of WeWork, declined to comment. But when the company filed a preliminary
prospectus last month it revealed the company had racked up billions in losses, was
burning cash, and had an arcane corporate structure riddled with potential conflicts.
— BLOOMBERG NEWSAVIATION
UNITED AIRLINES
TARGETS GEN Z
TRAVELERS
Airlines are known for trying to please their
high-rolling frequent flyers, the ones who
pony up for business class seats and master
the airport lounge life. But with an eye on
the very long term, executives at United Air-
lines are reaching out to up-and-coming
travelers who might be starting to book
flights on their own. The carrier announced
Tuesday a new promotion to reach the oldest
members of Generation Z: travelers between
the ages of 18 and 22. United is offering a discount of up to 10 percent on flights booked be-
tween now and the end of the year for passengers between the ages of 18 and 22. There are
some rules: Flights must be booked through the airline’s mobile app; passengers have to be
members of the loyalty program; and discounts are available only for economy or the no-
frills class known as ‘‘basic economy.’’ — BLOOMBERG NEWSFAST FOOD
WENDY’S TO TRY
SERVING BREAKFAST
— AGAIN
Wendy’s is relaunching breakfast across the United States next year, the latest fast-food
chain to amp up its offerings as more consumers eat out in the morning. Wendy’s now
serves breakfast at 300 restaurants across the United States. It has around 5,800 locations
nationwide. This will be Wendy’s fourth foray into the breakfast market; its most recent at-
tempt was in 2012. In a note to investors, Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said breakfast is
a difficult market for restaurants to crack. Wendy’s stock was down more than 10 percent
Tuesday. — ASSOCIATED PRESSBANKING
COUPLE FINDS
AN EXTRA
$120,000 IN
THEIR BANK
ACCOUNT —
AND SPENDS IT
Imagine waking up one day to find an extra $120,000 in your bank account. Maybe you
should call the bank and find out what’s going on? Robert and Tiffany Williams of Mon-
toursville, Pa., did not call the bank, police say. When $120,000 intended for a business
was accidentally transferred into their BB&T bank account because of a teller error,
the couple splurged on a camper, a Chevy, and a racecar, state trooper Aaron
Brown told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Authorities say they also distribut-
ed $15,000 to friends who needed the money. All told, they spent $100,
in about 2½ weeks, WNEP reported. The couple now face three felony
charges of theft and receiving stolen property. — WASHINGTON POSTEMPLOYMENT
JOB POSTINGS WERE
DOWN IN JULY TO
A FIVE-MONTH LOW
US job openings declined in July to a five-month low, signaling a pause in demand for
workers ahead of a cooling in August payrolls growth that indicates the labor market may
be gradually losing momentum. The number of positions waiting to be filled fell by 31,
to 7.22 million, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Survey, or JOLTS, released Tuesday. The quits rate rose to 2.4 percent, the highest since
April 2001, suggesting workers remain confident about their ability to find a job.
— BLOOMBERG NEWSThursdaySYMPOSIUM
Tech & the law
Learn how technology can impact the
legal world at this student-organized
symposium from The Harvard Law &
Technology Society. This two-day event
will feature panel discussions with
experts on how legal tech is impacting a
number of fields, including legislation,
entrepreneurship, and research. Thursday,
8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. to 2:
p.m. Harvard Law School, 1515
Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. Free for
students or university affiliates. $
general admission. Register online or go
to the business agenda at
bostonglobe.com.LEARNING AT LUNCH
Europe’s markets
Explore whether expanding into the
European market is the right move for
your business at this “lunch and learn”
from German law firm FACT. Consultants
from FACT will cover regulations and
economic factors. Thursday, noon to 1:
p.m., WeWork, 711 Atlantic Ave., Boston.
Free. Register online or go to the business
agenda at bostonglobe.com.CLASS
Strike out on your own
Learn how to manage the challenge of
starting your own business at this talk
from small business consultancy
Dewpoint Communications. Attendees
will learn how to manage the
psychological pressures of solo
entrepreneurship, manage a uniquely
heavy workload, and network with others
in the same position. Thursday, CIC
Cambridge, 1 Broadway, 5th floor, Santa
Clara room, Cambridge. $10. Register
online or go to the business agenda at
bostonglobe.com.WORKSHOP
Excel at Excel
Sharpen your skills with the spreadsheet
maker Microsoft Excel at this class from
General Assembly. Learn the basics of the
program before moving on to more
advanced shortcuts, functions, and
features that can be used in the
workplace. Thursday, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.,
GA Boston, 125 Summer St., 13th floor,
Boston. $60. Register online or go to the
business agenda at bostonglobe.com.Eventsofnote?E-mailusat
[email protected]