 |
|
|
|||||
Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, will begin suspending flights starting Thursday. The decision comes after the airline’s flight attendants union, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), issued a 72-hour strike notice over failed contract negotiations. The airline said it will suspend flights on Thursday and Friday, moving toward a full shutdown on Saturday of both Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge if a deal isn’t reached. “A planned labour disruption by CUPE, the union representing 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, is expected to begin Saturday, August 16, at 01:00 ET,” Air Canada said in a statement. Air Canada also said it has been in contact with other airlines to help meet their customers’ travel needs. It explained that the airline will attempt to rebook customers’ canceled flights, possibly on other airlines, but acknowledged there will be major hurdles with rebooking in a timely manner. “If your travel is disrupted, you can always choose a refund,” it said.“We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders, and the communities we serve,” Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement. “However, the disappointing conduct of CUPEs negotiators and the unions stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canadas and Air Canada Rouges operations through a lockout. As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse.” In a statement, the union said the airline has failed to address its concerns. The statement referenced “poverty wages” and unpaid labor, referring to time worked while planes are not in the air. The statement said: “Currently, Air Canada flight attendants perform hours of critical safety-related duties for free. The company has offered to begin compensating flight attendants for some of these dutiesbut only at 50% of their hourly rate, and the company is still refusing to compensate flight attendants for time spent responding to medical emergencies, fires, evacuations, and other safety and security-related issues on the ground.” While most airlines only pay flight attendants for time in the air, some flight attendants have begun pushing back. Recently, flight attendants in North America have sought compensation for total hours worked. That includes time on the ground, where they board passengers before takeoff and waiting periods between flights occur. “We have a lot of time in our days that we are unpaid,” Julie Hedrick, a flight attendant for American Airlines and president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants union, told NPR last year. “All of us, of course, feel that we should be paid for the minute we get to work until we go home, but we have to look at the entire package,” she said. In hopes of appeasing the union, Air Canada offered a 38% increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years. It included a 25% raise in the first year. The union pushed back, saying it would only actually raise wages by 17.2% over four years, and didn’t account for inflation. Air Canada had offered to compensate flight attendants for some unpaid work, but only at half of their hourly rate. This isn’t the first time Air Canada has threatened to shut down operations. Last year, after stalled talks with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) union, pilots prepared for a strike. Finally, an agreement was reached after Air Canada pilots voted in favor of a new agreement. If a deal isn’t reached by the weekend, the disruption will certainly be widely felt. According to the airline’s corporate profile, Air Canada provides service to airports all over Canada, as well as six continents, and is the largest foreign carrier to the U.S. Air Canada provides service to more than 50 U.S. airports, with around 430 flights between the countries each day.
Category:
E-Commerce
Ulta Beauty and Target Corp. announced on Thursday that they won’t be renewing their in-store partnership, which ends a year from now in August 2026. Until then, Ulta Beauty products will continue to be sold in Target stores and online at Target.com. Ulta Beauty has an estimated 600 in-store, or “shop-in-shop” locations at Target, at nearly a third of Targets 1,981 U.S. stores, according to CNBC. Fast Company has reached out to both companies for additional information about the timeline and locations of the closures. Shares in both stocks fell on the news, with Ulta Beauty (Nasdaq: ULTA) down about 1% and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) down nearly 2% in early and midday trading on Thursday. Since launching four years ago in 2021, Target’s partnership with the beauty retailer, which sells everything from cosmetics to skincare and haircare products, was a way to increase foot traffic in Target stores while giving Ulta a way to expand its customer base. Target, like many big-box retailers, is seeing slower growth and softer sales fueled by high prices, inflation, and changing consumer habitswhich have prompted fewer Americans to shop in stores as they gravitate online. The retailer also faced consumer boycotts over its rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies earlier this year. For 35 years, Ulta Beauty has revolutionized how people experience beautybringing together an unmatched assortment from mass to luxuryand our partnership with Target was one of many unique ways we have brought the power of beauty to guests nationwide, Amiee Bayer-Thomas, chief retail officer at Ulta Beauty, said in a press release. As we continue to execute our Ulta Beauty Unleashed plans, were confident our wide-ranging assortment, expert services, and inspiring in-store experiences will reinforce our leadership in beauty and define the next chapter of our brand. That release said customers with Ulta Beauty rewards and Target Circle-linked accounts will continue to earn Ulta Beauty rewards on eligible Ulta Beauty purchases at Target until August 2026. Target and Ulta Beauty, by the numbers In its latest earnings results for the first quarter of 2025, ending on May 3, Ulta Beauty reported net sales increased 4.5%, to $2.8 billion, compared with $2.7 billion the year prior, primarily due to increased comparable sales and new store contribution, and partially offset by a decrease in other revenue. The company has a market capitalization of $23.77 billion. Target, which reports second-quarter earnings next week, missed its first-quarter revenue expectations for the period ending May 3, with revenue coming in at $23.85 billion and falling short of the $24.27 billion estimate. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 adjusted, missing analyst estimates of $1.61. At the time, the retailer cut its full-year sales outlook, with sales down 3% compared with the same period a year ago. Target has a market capitalization of $47.14 billion.
Category:
E-Commerce
In a new ad campaign for E.l.f. Beauty, Matt Rife stars alongside drag performer Heidi N. Closet as fictional personal injury lawyers “E.l.f.ino & Schmarnes. The brand may have been hoping the comedic duo would bring laughs, but instead, the ad has been stirring up controversy. Customers took to social media to decry the casting of Rife, a stand-up comic who previously came under fire for making jokes that blamed victims of domestic violence in his 2023 Netflix special Natural Selection, and at the expense of trans people in his 2024 Hollywood Bowl show. I know a thing or two about red flags, Rife declares in the new ad, going on to say that customers deserve better than overpriced makeup. Playing on the cost-saving focus of the ad, one commenter on Instagram (who gained over 20,000 likes) questioned whether E.l.f. lacked the budget for a comedian who doesnt joke about abuse. Dozens of other commenters urged the brand to remove the video, with some taking it as the brands condonation of Rifes previous statements against domestic violence victims. In a statement posted to E.l.f.s Instagram and TikTok accounts, the brand acknowledged the controversy surrounding the ad, but stopped short of directly apologizing or removing the video. You know us. Were always listening and weve heard you, the brand wrote. This campaign aimed to humorously spotlight beauty injustice. We understand we missed the mark with people we care about in our e.l.f. community. While E.l.f.ino & Schmarnes closes today, well continue to make the case against overpriced beauty. The statement did little to mollify those upset by the ad, who noted in later social media comments that the ad is still available to watch and that the statement did not address the concerns underlying Rifes casting. This is a non-apology. Literally. Its all intentional outrage marketing. Im sick of it, one user wrote on Reddit. Outrage marketingwhich involves sparking negative reactions to garner attention and engagement with a brandseems to be on the rise, whether intentional or not. Sydney Sweeneys American Eagle ad and Gavin Casalegnos Dunkin’ Donuts ad both spurred similarly negative reactions recently. E.l.f. Beauty did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the goal of the ad campaign and whether customers claims that the brand is engaging in outrage marketing have any validity.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||