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Companies are losing $700 million as workers watch the eclipse

Erica Pandey, author of @Work

AP

The cost of lost productivity as American workers turn their attention to the solar eclipse for just 20 minutes Monday afternoon is $700 million, per Reuters.

But that's nothing compared to the price companies pay for Cyber Monday or March Madness. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimated that 87 million people will be working during the eclipse. They multiplied that figure by the approximate viewing time and the U.S. average wage to generate their cost ballpark. Here are the events that cost companies big money, along with their price tags:

  • March Madness Opening Week: $615 million per hour spent fixing brackets
  • Monday after the Super Bowl: $1.7 billion per hour spent debriefing
  • Cyber Monday after Thanksgiving: $1.9 billion per hour spent online shopping
  • James Comey's testimony: $3.3 billion for viewing the whole event
  • Amazon Prime Day: $10 billion for the day of deals

Go deeper

Dave Lawler, author of World
2 hours ago - World

How Biden might tackle the Iran deal

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Four more years of President Trump would almost certainly kill the Iran nuclear deal — but the election of Joe Biden wouldn’t necessarily save it.

The big picture: Rescuing the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is near the top of Biden's foreign policy priority list. He says he'd re-enter the deal once Iran returns to compliance, and use it as the basis on which to negotiate a broader and longer-lasting deal with Iran.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Alexi McCammond
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Kamala Harris, the new left's insider

Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photo: Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images     

Progressive leaders see Sen. Kamala Harris, if she's elected vice president, as their conduit to a post-Biden Democratic Party where the power will be in younger, more diverse and more liberal hands.

  • Why it matters: The party's rising left sees Harris as the best hope for penetrating Joe Biden's older, largely white inner circle.

If Biden wins, Harris will become the first woman, first Black American and first Indian American to serve as a U.S. vice president — and would instantly be seen as the first in line for the presidency should Biden decide against seeking a second term.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 10 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Large coronavirus outbreaks leading to high death rates — Coronavirus cases are at an all-time high ahead of Election Day — U.S. tops 88,000 COVID-19 cases, setting new single-day record.
  2. Politics: States beg for Warp Speed billions.
  3. World: Taiwan reaches a record 200 days with no local coronavirus cases.
  4. 🎧Podcast: The vaccine race turns toward nationalism.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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