Australia: Per Capita foundation is built on war-crimes (WIP)

AUKUS is bullshit now run by a spreadsheet war-criminal. $400Bn so the USA can build two submarines at the same time. It will bankrupt the country and my kids.

Per Capita is the Labor think tank designed to discuss and implement a progressive government policy. That is a lie. It was put together by Will Marshall, who fought valiantly, to get America into the Iraq War. Howard the Coward followed suit.

Will Marshall is a war criminal. So is Howard. Per Capita is an organisation who promotes pieces of shit like Will and then smashes down on the poor as part of their job. Emma Dawson should be sacked.

Nareen Young blocked me over an argument going on between Per Capita and the AUWU. I wasn’t even involved. I do hunt war-criminals though. How do you feel about this Dee Madigan?

 

*****

Sue me… I’m a homeless veteran. Go your hardest.

More to follow…

 

References

1. About Per Capita. Per Capita. https://percapita.org.au/about. Accessed [25.03.23]
2. Will Marshall. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Marshall. Accessed [25.03.23]

USA: Amazon to cut a further 9,000

I don’t usually do two PeakJobs stories in a single day but this one makes the cut. Amazon cutting again. Via The Guardian. Amazon to cut another 9,000 jobs in new round of layoffs. Expert:

Amazon is to cut 9,000 jobs across its global business, as the second big cull of staff at the online retailer this year.

The company said the cuts would fall mostly in its cloud services, advertising and Twitch livestreaming units. They come more than two months after Amazon announced it had expanded staff-cutting plans to affect more than 18,000 workers. In January it also revealed separate plans to shut three UK warehouses and seven delivery stations, affecting more than 1,200 further jobs.

Amazon’s chief executive, Andy Jassy, said in a letter to workers that the company had added a substantial amount of staff in the past few years, but the uncertain economy has forced it to choose cost and headcount cuts. Amazon employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide.

Australia: Intowork, an interesting backstory or two (WIP)

Once upon a time, CTC Employment & Training Services indirectly cost me a $100,000 job. I wrote that yarn up via Mefloquine Dispatches 51. Interestingly, CTC was bought out by Intowork in FY 2015-16. The purchase came with a full rebrand and the closure of the Gympie office (I even walked the ground to double-check).

Intowork (formally Inner Northern Group Training Ltd or INGT) started out in 1983 as a little operation in Northern Melbourne, assisting unemployed people get trades in Northern Melbourne. When the incorporate in 2009 they are working out of a couple of old buildings with a few staff and donated furniture. By 2013 they have approximately 100-staff and are doing it tough.

Then in September 2013, Tony Abbott gets elected 28^th Prime Minister of Australia. INGT rebrands as Intowork and buys heavily into government backed Employment Services. Growth is spectacular but the data starts to evaporate from 2018 onwards. In fact, no data is available for 2022. Below is some high-level analysis with a promise to dig into the detail in a future update.

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Now the Financials…

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I kept the financials simple because there is a lot to unpack here. Some thoughts:

• The financials track as expected. Significant increases post 2014, effectively quadrupling in 7-years (factoring in inflation). There is a lot of money in ‘clip the ticket businesses, like employment services.
• As the business restructured in 2014 the emphasis in the Annual Reports changed. They phased out reporting detailed workforce structures but picked up Assets/Equity. This is no longer a business serving disadvantaged people in outer Melbourne, it is a national business.
• The 2021 figure of exactly $200,000,000 seems possible but I hate exact data (suggests something else might have happened here, i.e., provisioning to Equity or buying Assets). Significant increases that year.
• No financials for 2021/22 with the next Annual Report due in months. What is happening there?

 

More to follow…

 

References

1. 30 Year Anniversary Booklet (2013). Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Anniversary-booklet-email.pdf [Accessed 21.03.2023]
2. 2009-2010 Intowork Annual Report to the 3 Member Councils. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
3. 2010-2011 Intowork Annual Report to the 3 Member Councils. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
4. 2011-2012 Intowork Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
5. 2012-2013 Intowork Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
6. 2013-2014 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
7. 2014-2015 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
8. 2015-2016 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
9. 2016-2017 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
10. 2017-2018 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
11. 2018-2019 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
12. 2019-2020 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]
13. 2020-2021 Intowork Australia Annual Report. Intowork. https://intowork.com.au/about-us/publications [Accessed 22.03.2023]

Switzerland: Credit Suisse goes under…

Breaking news out of Switzerland. This will have immediate impacts on staffing at both UBS & Credit Suisse but wider ramifications for the world economy. The 167-year old Credit Suisse will join Lehmann’s as a historical bank. Via Al Jazeera. UBS to buy Credit Suisse for $3.24bn in government-brokered deal. Excerpt:

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.24bn), officials from the banks have said, in a deal designed to contain a widening crisis of confidence in global finance. The agreement, announced late on Sunday, includes 100 billion francs ($108bn) in liquidity assistance for UBS and Credit Suisse from the Swiss central bank.

“With the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, a solution has been found to secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy in this exceptional situation,” the Swiss central bank said. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said that there was a risk that Credit Suisse could have become “illiquid, even if it remained solvent, and it was necessary for the authorities to take action”.

To enable UBS to take over Credit Suisse, the federal government is providing a loss guarantee of a maximum of 9 billion francs ($9.7bn) for a clearly defined part of the portfolio, the government said.

Are we already on the Sigmoid Curve for AI?

My Twitter colleague MT posted something on Twitter about AI that caught my interest (solid h/t). I don’t know who Tom Scott is but after watching this 15-minute YouTube he got an immediate follow from me. I think that if you want an idea where AI might be going then buckle up. Via Tom Scott. I tried using AI. It scared me. Video:

So much to unpack but I think he might be on to something. Thoughts?

USA: Disney to cut 7,000 staff

I took a couple days off and completely missed this update. 7,000 or approximately 3.6% of total staffing sounds like a lot but it was just two years ago that Disney sacked 32,000 staff as the pandemic hit. If you click through and read the 4-minute article you will also come across the Disney+ numbers which just had their first quarterly reversal (by 2.1-million). Via Reuters. Disney to cut 7,000 jobs in major revamp by CEO Iger. Excerpt:

LOS ANGELES, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) on Wednesday announced a sweeping restructuring under recently reinstated CEO Bob Iger, cutting 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs and make its streaming business profitable. The layoffs represent an estimated 3.6% of Disney’s global workforce. Shares of Disney rose 4.7% to $117.22 in after-hours trading.

The steps, including a promise to reinstate a dividend for shareholders, addressed some of the criticism from activist investor Nelson Peltz that the Mouse House was overspending on streaming.

“We are pleased that Disney is listening,” a spokesperson for Peltz’s Trian Group said in a statement late Wednesday.

Under a plan to cut costs and return power to creative executives, the company will restructure into three segments: an entertainment unit that encompasses film, television and streaming; a sports-focused ESPN unit; and Disney parks, experiences and products.

“This reorganization will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated approach to our operations,” Iger told analysts on a conference call. “We are committed to running efficiently, especially in a challenging environment.”

USA: Zoom to cut 1,300 staff (approx. 15%)

Zoom are cutting staff and in terms of % they have gone the hardest. Via Forbes. 2023 Layoffs: Zoom Cuts 1,300 Jobs. Two excerpts then an observation:

Zoom—which took off as employers quickly pivoted to remote meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic, announced plans on Tuesday to cut 1,300 employees—becoming the latest U.S. company to implement job cuts as recession fears continue into 2023.

From Zoom itself.

Zoomies,

Over the past few years, Zoom has become an indispensable source of connection for businesses and individuals as well as a globally recognized brand. Whether you have been at Zoom since the beginning or joined us more recently, you’ve played an important role in our evolution, and that makes today’s announcement particularly difficult. We have made the tough but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15% and say goodbye to around 1,300 hardworking, talented colleagues. 

I know this is a difficult message to hear, and certainly not one I ever wanted to deliver. If you are a US-based employee who is impacted, you will receive an email to your Zoom and personal inboxes in the next 30 minutes that reads [IMPACTED] Departing Zoom: What You Need to Know. Non-US employees will be notified following local requirements. For those Zoomies waking up to this news or reading this after normal work hours, I am sorry you are finding out this way but we felt it was best to notify all impacted Zoomies as soon as possible.

Possibly because of the nature of the Zoom business and the retreat back to the office but Zoom is a bit of an outlier in terms of % jobs lost. I did the beer coaster analysis on Twitter 🙂

Indonesia: The dark side of Nickel Mining

This is a long read but well worth the effort. Via Vice. Workers Keep Dying at This Chinese Nickel Mining Company in Indonesia. Excerpt, then commentary below:

In the year after the factory opened, workers fell into molten waste, got swept into the sea, and took their own lives. Then, after two employees were burned alive, protests erupted—and turned deadly.

When 20-year-old Nirwana Selle got a phone call to work as a crane operator in 2021, the Indonesian vocational school graduate was elated. She had waited months for a job after graduation and was excited to finally start her career. But she didn’t know the job would lead her to TikTok stardom—and then her tragic death.

Nirwana was among some 11,000 locals who worked for Gunbuster Nickel Industry, a Chinese-owned nickel smelting company on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, churning out a critical metal for batteries that power the world’s growing fleet of electric vehicles.

Inside the overhead operating compartment of her crane at the metal processing plant, Nirwana filmed herself controlling a set of joysticks to lift and move ladles of molten metal. Her videos gave outsiders a glimpse of life in the country’s increasingly important mining and metals industry. Many were watched millions of times, earning her more than 137,000 TikTok followers. In mid-December, she posted footage of her riding a motorcycle across the nickel smelter’s vast industrial site.

That would be the last video she made.

This has many of the Peak Jobs nasties. Just utilising my ‘tags’ this story contains the following:

• Workplace Deaths (there were seven deaths in 2022 alone, which is very high)
• Riot (14-15 January 2023 including 1x Indonesian & 1x Chinese fatality and several injured)
• Suicide (I counted at least three)
• Workplace Violence (At least two separate incidents detailed)
• Crime (Arson & Vandalism)
• Strike (Jan-2023)
• Environment
• Human Rights
• Working Conditions (I refer to them as Wages-Conditions)
• Economic-Development
• Labour Unions (Morowali Utara Workers’ Union)
• Labour Disputes
• Labour Law (It’s the proper English spelling)
• Social Media (TikTok)

Also, I thought I would add this from the story:

Do you have information about Gunbuster Nickel Industry or other Chinese nickel mining or processing companies abroad? We want to hear from you. From a non-work device, contact our reporter at rachel.cheung@vice.com

USA: Dell to cut 6,650 staff as PC sales slow

Today IT manufacturer Dell is cutting. Via Bloomberg. Dell to Cut About 6,650 Jobs, Battered by Plunging PC Sales. Excerpt then comment:

Dell Technologies Inc. is eliminating about 6,650 roles as it faces plummeting demand for personal computers, becoming the latest technology company to announce thousands of job cuts.

The reduction amounts to about 5% of Dell’s global workforce, the company said in a regulatory filing early Monday. Dell is experiencing market conditions that “continue to erode with an uncertain future,” Co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke wrote in memo viewed by Bloomberg. About one-third of Dell’s employees are US-based, according to a March 2022 filing.

Unlike most outlets reporting in this space, Bloomberg have done some analysis on staffing at Dell and found that the company headcount will be 38,700 less than at it’s heigh in 2020 when it employed 165,000 staff. Peak jobs for Dell?

Australia: On Recruitment Scams (2023)

Don’t fall for recruitment scams. I’ll add more stories and examples to help avoid the worst of it but be careful out there. In the meantime, here is a few lines from each story to emphasise the dangers of recruitment scams:

“Never agree to receive or forward funds through your account as part of a job.” NAB. January, 2023

“Australians are losing at least $1m each day to scams as fraudsters become more sophisticated in their tactics.” The Guardian. February, 2023

A few horror stories…

19.02.2023: Via The Guardian. ‘They bleed you dry’: the recruitment scammers preying on Australian job seekers. Nice to see Kristin O’Connell of the Anti-Poverty Centre interviewed in this one. Excerpt:

“I can’t stop kicking myself,” Rose* says. The 51-year-old has just lost $10,000 to scammers – a life-changing amount for the mother of three. Rose lives off jobseeker and a small wage from the hotline business she runs in the evenings. She struggles to pay the $500-a-week rent for her home near the Gold Coast she shares with her daughters, aged 12 and 16. Often she has to juggle eating with paying for petrol.

When she was contacted by someone describing themselves as a recruitment officer over WhatsApp who offered $950 a week to write fake reviews for high-profile hotel chains, and other sites selling products online, she thought the job would give her life stability and help lift her family out of poverty.

6.02.2023: Via The Guardian. From ‘hi mum’ to crypto fraud: five of the latest scams to watch out for. Excerpt:

Dan Halpin, the chief executive of Cybertrace, a private cyber-investigations firm, said they were seeing an increase in the number of online job scams. These are often conducted via messaging platforms including WhatsApp and social media, with victims contacted by someone pretending to be a recruitment officer with a good job offer. Targets are often asked to set up a cryptocurrency wallet, converting their own money on the promise they will make more back.

“The scammers are smooth talkers and will be very convincing if asked why the cryptocurrency is necessary for the position,” he said. “However, I can assure you, there is no legitimate reason why a job applicant would need to own a cryptocurrency wallet and convert their money to cryptocurrency.” If the advertisement is listed on social media, particularly on a group or community page, or sent directly via a messaging platform, there’s a good chance it’s a scam, according to Halpin.

30.01.2023: Via the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Adam thought he was starting a new job, until he lost $28,000. What are recruitment scams and how are they targeting job seekers? Quick excerpt:

For 67-year-old Adam*, starting a new job was supposed to bring him some extra income. The last thing he expected was for it to destroy him financially. After seeing a job advertisement on Facebook, Adam applied and was contacted over WhatsApp. The company that posted the ad told him they handled e-commerce for LUISAVIAROMA, an Italian luxury retailer. After being offered the job, Adam was given a demonstration on how to use the company’s platform — all of which was fake. In the span of five days, Adam was scammed out of $28,000.