COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

VW CEO demands confidence vote

Volkswagen, the world's largest vehicle maker by sales, risked a leadership crisis after Chief Executive Herbert Diess demanded a vote of confidence in his reform efforts by asking for an early contract extension.

The VW CEO is unlikely to succeed with his request given current opposition to a contract extension by key stakeholders at the company.

The multi-brand German car and truck maker convened the supervisory board's executive committee to discuss Diess' demands, sources told Reuters on Monday.

At a meeting on Tuesday, Diess outlined his vision for the future of the carmaker and the reforms needed for him to be effective, two sources familiar with the matter said.

He urged stakeholders to back him in an effort to break a management deadlock with Volkswagen's labour chiefs. Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch is seeking to avert a clash by postponing discussions about a contract extension, one of the people familiar with the matter said. - Nampa/Reuters

Airbnb aims for US$35 bln valuation

Airbnb Inc said it is aiming for a valuation of up to US$34.8 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), in what would cap a stunning recovery in its fortunes after the US home rental firm's business was heavily damaged by the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year.

In a regulatory filing, Airbnb set a target price range of between US$44 and US$50 apiece to sell 51.9 million shares, which would pull in US$2.6 billion. Airbnb could end up selling US$2.85 billion at the upper end of the range.

Of the shares being sold, Airbnb founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk will together sell nearly US$100 million worth of shares in the IPO launch.

Airbnb struggled in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic as travel came to a grinding halt. It had to lay off a quarter of its workforce and seek US$2 billion in emergency funding from investors.

At the top of Airbnb's target range, the IPO will give Airbnb a fully diluted valuation, which includes securities such as options and restricted stock units, of US$34.8 billion. -Nampa/Reuters

Walmart to lift the minimum order value

Walmart Inc said it would lift the US$35 minimum order value that subscribers of its loyalty service had to meet for next-day or two-day shipping, as the retailer gears up for a holiday season dominated by online shopping.

The change only applies to items on the retailer's website such as toys, appliances and clothing, the company said.

Walmart Plus, touted as a rival to Amazon.com Inc's Prime subscription service, was launched just over two months ago aiming to attract new customers and make existing ones more loyal as consumers consolidate their shopping to just a few retailers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With coronavirus infections spiking across the United States, expectations have grown that Americans will do a bigger chunk of their holiday shopping from their living rooms and home offices instead of going out to stores.

"We just thought that now, in advance of the holidays, given where we are with the state of the pandemic, now is the absolute right time to have free shipping with no minimum," Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer at Walmart, told Reuters. - Nampa/Reuters

ConocoPhillips to shed up to 500 workers

ConocoPhillips, the largest US independent oil producer, said that it would lay off up to 500 Houston employees, about a fifth of its headquarters workforce, to match staffing with expected activity levels.

Oil and gas producers have cut the value of their assets by about US$80 billion and shed tens of thousands of jobs this year as the coronavirus pandemic savaged global energy demand and pushed energy prices down.

ConocoPhillips posted a loss of US$1.93 billion through the first nine months of this year, compared with a US$6.47 billion profit in the same period last year.

Affected employees will be notified Feb. 1, about when ConocoPhillips expects to complete its US$9.7 billion acquisition of US shale producer Concho Resources Inc.

Administrative and oil-exploration jobs were identified as facing cuts when the Concho deal was disclosed in October. Executives have targeted US$500 million in cost and capital savings through 2022.- Nampa/Reuters

Hyundai Motor to launch dedicated EV platform

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said it will introduce an electric vehicle-only platform early next year that will use its own battery technology to cut production time and costs.

The plan underscores efforts by the world’s No.5 auto group to become a major player in the global EV market, as car makers around the world are pouring billions of dollars of investment to improve battery technology.

Market leader Tesla said in September it aims to halve the cost of its EV batteries and bring more production of the key auto component in-house to lower EV prices to US$25 000 each.

Hyundai expects its dedicated Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) will allow it to use its own battery module technology across various EV models and cut the number of components by 60%.

“E-GMP will be highly effective in expanding the Group’s EV leadership position as it will enable the company to enlarge its EV line-up over a relatively short period through modularisation and standardisation,” it said in a statement.

An electric vehicle based on E-GMP will offer driving range of 500 kms (310 miles) or more on a single charge, an improvement of at least 23% from the Kona EV, the longest driving range model among Hyundai’s EV line-ups. - Nampa/Reuters