The U.S. tax reform pushed by the Trump Administration has prompted many corporations to announce bonuses and wage hikes for their employees. Starbucks is one of the latest to boost its compensation and benefits package in light of the recent changes in U.S. tax law. Ron Crawford, VP of Benefits at Starbucks, was with us to discuss the company's investment in benefits.
Starbucks said the U.S. tax reform accelerated its latest investment in paid leave and wages. Had there not been tax reform, Crawford said Starbucks still would have made investments in compensation, but the timing and the extent of it may have been different. The offerings will total more than $250 million for more than 150,000 workers.
Digital apps and emerging technologies are driving more coffee runs to Starbucks, says Crawford. He believes digitization has brought more customers to its stores and boosted interactions between customers and employees. Starbucks is pumping in $7 billion of capital to build and renovate stores, manufacturing plants and technology platforms in the U.S. over the next five years.
Snapchat has announced new measures and policies like features including restrictions on friend suggestions and a new system to remove age-inappropriate content.
YouTube comedian and writer Lilly Singh is partnering with Aavrani to work on a new hair care collection. Singh spoke with Hena Doba and provided Cheddar News with a glimpse of her new project. "I'm going to say that choices are what makes the beauty industry so amazing," Singh said.
Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.
Online gig work is growing globally, particularly in the developing world, creating an important source of employment for women and young people in poorer countries where jobs are scarce, according to a World Bank report released Thursday.