06 May STAFF DECIDE ON COST-CUTTING MEASURES; ONLINE AGMs GET OFFICIAL GO-AHEAD
Posted at 05:34h
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Welcome to today’s business and media intelligence, with insights collected over the past 24-hours, as the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals almost one million jobs have been lost in just the past five weeks.
International news
- CHINA’S RECOVERY PLAYBOOK MAY PROVIDE SOME VALUABLE LESSONS
- As Western governments begin to loosen restrictions, companies are looking to China for lessons on how to reassure nervous consumers and employees. Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Starbucks, said China offered a “playbook” of new practices, such as taking the temperature of baristas before their shifts, that would be used when its US stores began to open their doors this week. Read the Financial Times article here. (Subscriber access)
- IT’S OFFICIAL! NOT EVERYONE WANTS THE OFFICE BACK
- While most of the world eagerly awaits the return to normal office life, for some, the thought is riddled with sadness and anxiety. According to The New York Times, it appears not everyone wants to go back to the old way of working. Read more on happy tales from the home office here.
- LET’S HEAR IT FOR CORONA, THE BEER … NOT THE VIRUS
- Will Corona, the beer brand famous all over the world as a symbol of escape, recover from having its brand associated with a pandemic? Read more in The Economist here. (Subscriber access)
Australian company news
- MACQUARIE GOES VIRTUAL TO DISCUSS A POST-COVID WORLD
- Macquarie Group’s annual Australian Equities Conference went virtual yesterday, with a generally optimistic outlook from chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake, who said the billions of dollars of capital successfully raised during the pandemic show signs of confidence. Read more in The Australian article here, and about what companies had to say in The AFR here. (Subscriber access)
- DIRECT DEMOCRACY: STAFF DECIDE ON COST-CUTTING MEASURES
- Boutique consulting firm Seven Consulting asked staff to vote on their preferred cost-saving “levers” from a list that included reducing or eliminating bonuses, cutting pay and standing down employees, in a bid to be transparent and engage staff. Read more on the different approach in The AFR here. (Subscriber access)
- MIND YOUR Rs AND YOUR Fs: MANAGEMENT CONSULTING FIRMS RECOMMEND STAGED PLANS POST COVID 19
- Elite strategy consulting houses McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Bain suggest plans to get through the COVID 19 downturn. McKinsey has a five R model – resolve, resilience, return, reimagination and reform – while BCG uses a three F model – flatten, fight and future. And Bain has an Act Now/Plan Now model – protect, recover and retool. Read more about these staged plans, and how the big firms recommend responding to the crisis in The AFR. (Subscriber access)
- MORE BAD NEWS ON THE DIVIDENDS, JOBS FRONT – JAMES HARDIE
- In its quarterly update, James Hardie Industries said it had ample liquidity to ride out the economic storm, but it will suspend dividend payments and close several plants around the world as demand for construction materials drops. Read more in The Australian. (Subscriber access)
Australian markets
- ONLINE AGMs GET OFFICIAL GO-AHEAD
- Treasurer Josh Fydenberg has announced new temporary rules to allow companies to hold annual meetings online. The move, which will apply for the six months from May 6, relieves companies from potential legal action under the Corporations Act for holding virtual AGMs. View the statement here.
- INVESTORS, STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE
- Chief market strategist at CMC Markets, Michael McCarthy, says rather than poring over infection rates and economic damage, investors can acknowledge the uncertainty and prepare for a range of outcomes. He offers four possible scenarios investors should contemplate: V-shaped recovery; Better in 2021; Recession now; and, Reinfection and depression. Read these scenarios in more detail in The AFR. (Subscriber access)
Our daily briefing is not meant to be a summary of media coverage but rather, insights that may be helpful in understanding how organisations are communicating with stakeholders in a time of crisis – and what comes next. Sign up via email.