Economic conditions improve 📈
Tick invasion, cyclone alert, and a postponed PS5 launch.
Hi 👋, Tanvi here.
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Stock market summary: 😍
US - S&P 500 up 0.82% 🔼
India - Sensex up 1.57% 🔼
Permanent employment 👏
Rise in demand for online goods had forced Amazon to hire a temporary workforce on urgent basis. But now Amazon is planning on making these positions permanent and is letting people keep their jobs. These temporary workers accounted for about 70% of Amazon’s workforce.
This move came as ecommerce platforms continue to win big, with people flocking to these platforms for all purchases ranging from groceries to inflatable backyard pools.
The permanent jobs come as a ray of hope for seasonal workers as it provides benefits such as job security, medical insurance and retirement plans in times when economic conditions are terrible. The company in a bid to accommodate more workers and provide safer work environments has made face masks mandatory for the employees and ramped up sanitation measures.
In a recent report Amazon said it has 840,400 full and part-time workers working for the company, with nearly 200,000 of those hired in the last 3 months.
Layoffs and more layoffs✈️
American Airlines (AA) disclosed on Thursday that it would be laying off 30% of its support and management staff to cut costs.
Air travel has tanked due to the pandemic and this has come as a curse to the airline industry. AA currently employs about 17,000 people in management and support staff and the layoff will cut about 5,100 jobs. the furloughed workers will still remain on the payroll till the end of September.
In India, we have Make My Trip laying people off.
In a bid to cut costs due to a drop in bookings Make My Trip has laid off 10% of its workforce which accounts for about 350 employees.
The uncertainty in these trying times remains high for these companies because even if the travel restrictions are lifted, people will be paranoid to leave the safety of their homes and travel long distance, specially without any proven vaccine or treatment in the near horizon.
Bars to open in The Netherlands🔓
The Dutch government has given a green signal for bars and restaurants to reopen for business from June 1.
The government is laying strict policies on guests and only upto 30 guests are allowed inside a restaurant at once provided they maintain a 1.5 metre distance from each other. Cinema theaters and museums were also the ones allowed to open and people are required to wear face masks at all times.
After locusts, 2020 now sees a “Tick” invasion 🤒
Blood sucking ticks have invaded certain regions in Russia. Scientists say that this is the worst form of mutant tick and have found 428 times more ticks than usual.
The tick swarms have sparked fears in Siberia as hospitals are running out of vaccines to treat the types of diseases that ticks can cause which include encephalitis and Lyme disease.
Unemployment stats are improving in India 😍
As lock-downs are easing up, it seems like economic activity might be showing some signs of ticking upwards
In a recent report released by Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, India’s unemployment went up from 23.48% to 23.52% in April, a modest increment due the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.
But in May around 2.1 crore jobs were added with labor market conditions improving. The addition of the jobs marked a growth of 7.5% and the jobs of small traders and wage laborers jumped 39%. 👏👏
Although this seems like a good thing for the disrupted economy, the market still remains far from normal.
What else are we Snackin’🍿
💊Emergency use of Remdesivir approved by India to treat COVID-19 - as cases in India continue to spike, government has approved Gilead Sciences’ Remdesivir for emergency treatment of COVID-19 cases after the drug showed promising results in formal clinical trials
🌀 33 NDRF teams deployed in Maharashtra and Gujarat in view of cyclone Nisarga- the west coast of India is embracing for Cyclone next couple of days and 33 teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed.
🎮 PS5 event postponed by Sony, saying it wants to allow more important voices to be heard - gaming has been booming, and consoles are getting sold faster than companies can make them. There wouldn’t have been a better time for Sony to introduce the much awaited PS5. But the company has decided to wait till conditions with the pandemic as well as civil unrest in the USA to end. While we’re bummed, it surely is the right call.
📱 Delhi CM launches app to notify Delhites about empty hospital beds in the state - adopting technology to improve healthcare is not new to the state of Delhi. Now with an app to identify and notify empty beds, the government expects improved triage and reduced wait times.
📈 Rupee jumped sharply against the US dollar; - the change in direction came on the back of confidence in the domestic stock market and India’s phased opening of the domestic economy.
Tweet of the day -
Although we don’t face any brunt of the civil unrest going on in the US right now, we surely have some lessons to learn from the situation there. Just like anywhere else, when it comes to racism, India has a long way to go as well.
As a nation, we’re too quick in identifying people by the color of their skin, or their language, or their looks.This happens despite our diversity. But that can change now. Today. We can see the world seeking change and we can teach ourselves to do better. We don’t need unrest to force us to change. We don’t need riots to make us see others as equal.
Start by denouncing racial remarks. Refuse to judge people based on appearance or color. Don’t look down on others because of their profession. Kindness and acceptance will make us all better.
Hope you took a thing or two away from today’s edition. 😀
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