Walmart Plans To Close Offices, Ford Invests In Battery Factories
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Walmart Inc plans to close three of its tech centers in the US and require hundreds of employees to relocate to keep their jobs. Ford is seeking to increase its domestic electric car supply chain to produce 2 million electric vehicles a year globally by the end of 2026.
Close offices
Retail behemoth to close offices, Walmart housing tech workers in Austin, Texas; Carlsbad, CA; and Portland, Oregon. Walmart will pay for employees in those locations to relocate to other major offices, such as San Bruno, California, or the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The company hopes to relocate most of its employees, with some being allowed full-time remote workers. Moreover, those who leave will receive severance pay.
Back to the offices
Most of Walmart's global tech workforce will be required to be in their assigned office at least two days a week, Kumar said in a memo. Since last year, many employees at Walmart's Bentonville headquarters have had to work in person five days a week.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Kumar told the enterprise technology staff that remote working would last longer than in other parts of the organization. The group aimed to make virtual work the new normal for global technology.
This change is a sign that even for tech companies that previously used remote working during the pandemic, on-site work and central offices will play a role in the future.
Walmart share price
In early February, Walmart shares were falling towards 140.00, but almost a week ago they started to move up again. Currently, the share price is at 145.91.
Ford and big investments
Automakers are working to secure key minerals and are building battery factories as they push to produce more electric vehicles. Financial incentives for the production of battery cells and materials in North America, contained in the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed last year, accelerated these efforts.
Ford is seeking to increase its domestic electric car supply chain to produce 2 million electric vehicles a year globally by the end of 2026. The company has secured approximately 70% of the battery capacity needed to meet its 2026 target.
To this end, the company is investing $3.5 billion to build a battery factory in Michigan with the help of Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology.
The facility, which will be built in Marshall, Michigan, about 100 miles west of Detroit, is expected to create about 2,500 jobs, Ford said on Monday. The automaker said the subsidiary will produce the battery cells using technology and expertise provided by CATL, the world's largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles.
Ford considered locations for the battery plant in Mexico and Canada, but ultimately settled on Michigan, partly due to federal subsidies available under the new law
Ford’s plans
Ford's planned plant in Michigan will produce lithium iron phosphate cells, a type commonly used in China. The so-called LFP chemistry is generally less expensive than the nickel-cobalt combination widely used in North America and Europe.
Ford said last summer it planned to add LFP as a way to lower the cost of its electric vehicles.
The move allows Ford to reduce its reliance on nickel- and cobalt-based batteries, prices of which have risen over the past year.
CATL will start supplying LFP batteries for Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs starting this year and F-150 Lightning EV pickups in 2024.
Ford share price
At the beginning of February, Ford shares rose above 14.00. This level was last seen in November last year. After that, the stock fell below 13.00 again, but rose and recently closed at 13.11.
Source: wsj.com, finance.yahoo.com
