If Ford CEO Jim Farley could go back in time, he would have moved much more decisively to fix the automaker's nagging quality problems, he admitted to investors Thursday.
Why it matters: Ford forfeited billions of dollars in profit over the last few years because of soaring warranty claims and delayed product launches due to manufacturing troubles.
Data: Cornell ILR; Note: Stoppages include lockouts; Chart: Axios Visuals
Pay drove the most work stoppages in 2023, while health and safety issues were the second most popular cause, according to a new report by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Why it matters: Unions have been emboldened by 2023's uptick in strikes, including the UAW strike and the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, Nathan writes.
The big picture: The number of workers who walked off the job surged by 141% in 2023, as Emily Peck reported this morning in our sibling newsletter, Axios Markets.
Some 539,000 workers walked off the job last year.
Donald Trump's social media company, Truth Social, has received U.S. regulatory approval to go public by merging with a blank check company called Digital World Acquisition Corp.
The big picture: This is a giant step forward for the beleaguered deal, but comes one day after a giant step backward.
Walmart is in talks to buy smart TV maker Vizio for more than $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: This reflects how big retailers are muscling in on the personalized advertising market, using media content to complement their existing customer data.
Pelion Venture Partners of Salt Lake City secured up to $125 million in matching funds from theU.S. Small Business Administration, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Pelion is the first licensee under a plan SBA launched last summer to modernize the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, thus opening up billions of dollars to VC funds.
Sam Altman isn't just the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI. He's also the owner of OpenAI Startup Fund, which Altman once called a "corporate venture fund," according to federal securities filings.
Why it matters: OpenAI's structural strangeness permeates all aspects of the business.
According to the founders of Cario, a new blockchain-enabled application that spun out of a car leasing company, everyone in the auto industry wants to change the way car titles are handled.
Why it matters: The trillion-dollar industry of cars in the U.S. is going through a massive shift, to electrification now and perhaps to self-driving soon — but amid all that technical advancement, car ownership is largely still documented on paper, Brady writes.
While everyone deserves representation in a court of law, communications experts are split on whether everyone deserves PR representation.
Why it matters: Recent settlements have highlighted the risks associated with client work and the ethical dilemmas many agencies are forced to consider.
Driving the news: A subsidiary of PR giant Publicis Groupe has agreed to pay a $350 million settlement for its ad campaigns for Purdue Pharmathat state prosecutors saydrove demand for opioids like OxyContin during the drug crisis.
The settlementfollows consulting firm McKinsey & Co.'s 2021 agreement to pay $573 million for its work with Purdue.
There's a disconnect between people's expectations for brands and what they believe the brands are doing, according to a new study from communications firm Mission North.
Why it matters: This disconnect chips away at a brand's reputation with internal and external audiences.
By the numbers: Mission North found companies are exceeding expectations when it comes to publicly commenting on social issues and engaging in sustainable practices but are falling short when it comes to internal policies.
Lyft's stock rose by 62% on Tuesday evening due to a typo in its earnings release.
Details: In the release, Lyft estimated a profit margin would expand by 500 basis points, or 5 percentage points, when in reality it was expected to grow by 50 basis points.
Lyft CFO Erin Brewer corrected the "clerical error" during a subsequent earnings call.
The intrigue: Market watchers can't remember the last time a typo triggered such a big stock reaction, per the Wall Street Journal.
What they're saying: Lyft CEO David Risher took responsibility for the error and quickly pivoted during an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.
Witness, a startup that extends blockchain verifiability to everyone, has secured a $3.5 million seed round led by Haun Ventures, with participation by Coinbase Ventures and various angel investors.
Why it matters: "We're starting to see this cusp where it's: Can we trust what we see on the internet anymore? Lately, the answer has been no," Witness co-founder Joe Coll tells Axios.
While everyone deserves representation in a court of law, communications experts are split on whether everyone deserves PR representation.
Why it matters: Recent settlements have highlighted the risks associated with client work and the ethical dilemmas many agencies are forced to consider.
Why it matters: The two sides are barreling toward a showdown over whether the factory should be unionized, marking the third such collision in the last decade.
Women now make up 47% of all workers in the U.S., compared with just 30% back in 1950. But many occupations aren't so evenly split between men and women, according to the government's annual look at workforce composition.
Zoom out: There is a lot of research explaining why the workforce is so pink- and blue-coded, as the WSJ recently noted. Some biggies:
Forget the "summer of strikes," 2023 was a full year of walkouts: The number of workers who walked off the job surged by 141% last year from 2022, per a report out Thursday morning.
Why it matters: The strong labor market of the past few years fueled a rise in support for unions and worker organizing, emboldening organizers to take a harder line — pushing folks to the picket lines.
Target is focusing on the basics and low prices for its new store-owned brand "dealworthy," a line of everyday essentials arriving in stores this month.
Why it matters: More Americans have been turning to store brands to save money as they continue to deal with sticker shock over high prices.
D.C.-based public affairs firm Narrative Strategies has sold a majority stake to New York private equity firm Clarion Capital Partners, Axios first learned.
Why it matters: The investment is the latest example of a private equity firm taking a stake in a public affairs company as corporations brace for more scrutiny — and potentially regulation — out of Washington.
