The war in Ukraine is hindering the operation of many companies in the European region. As a result, Whirlpool decided to transfer a significant part of its operations in the region to a new entity controlled by a Turkish equipment manufacturer. Since the beginning of the new year, many tech companies have narrowed their ranks as the pandemic, which has caused an increase in the number of employees, has died down. Concerns about inflation and a slowdown in the global economy have encouraged leaders in the tech sector to prepare for worse times by reducing costs through layoffs.
Whirlpool
Whirlpool Corp is transferring a significant portion of its regional operations to a new entity controlled by a Turkish equipment manufacturer. The new company, whose majority shareholder will be the Turkish company Arcelik AS, is expected to have total sales of USD 6.5 billion. Benton Harbor, Michigan, equipment maker will own 25% of the new entity after the transaction closes
Whirlpool executives said in April they were beginning a strategic review of the company's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which accounted for 23% of the company's total revenue in 2021. The Russian invasion of Ukraine hurt demand and drove up costs in the region.
Whirlpool, like other manufacturers, struggled more broadly with weakening consumer demand and rising material, energy and other costs. The company cut production by 35% in the third quarter of 2022 to reduce inventory, and said its North American operations faced an unspecified fourth-quarter supply chain disruption that has since been resolved.
In an announcement of its 2022 financial results, due to be released on January 30, the company said on Tuesday that it expects full-year net sales to fall by 10% from 2021. The deal left Whirlpool with a loss of $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, including a $1.1 billion write-down for the company's operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa and $400 million for currency adjustments. The company is expected to hurt its full-year earnings per share in 2022 by $26 to $28.
WHR shares in the new year soared until they reached 154. For the last few days, Whirlpool Corp shares have been trading above 154, close to 155, and 154.90 to be exact.
Microsoft and layoffs
Microsoft had more than one round of layoffs last year, but didn't announce how many jobs it cut. The round, which began in July, affected less than 1% of the total workforce of the company of more than 200,000 people. Sky News previously reported plans to announce layoffs this week. Microsoft's expected move comes a week ahead of the scheduled listing of its latest quarterly earnings.
The layoffs affected companies across the industry. Amazon.com Inc. announced it was laying off 18,000 people. This month, business software provider Salesforce Inc. announced plans to cut 8,000 employees, or 10% of the global workforce, marking the largest job cut in the company's history. On Tuesday, Unity Software Inc. said it was laying off 284 employees. The provider of video game and other application development tools had previously announced layoffs in June, when it cut around 225 jobs.
Microsoft is seeing positive interest this year as it negotiates to increase investment in its vibrant AI startup OpenAI. Microsoft shares continue to climb this year, reaching 240.35. Today, for the first time this year, they fell to 239.85
Source: wsj.com, finance.yahoo.cm
