UAW President Gary Jones (left) and FCA North America Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart opened 2019 contract talks with a ceremonial hand shake during an event on July 16, 2019 at the company's North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Fiat Chrysler
DETROIT – Fiat Chrysler and the United Auto Workers union have reached a tentative deal on a new labor contract amid tumultuous times for both sides.
The UAW Bargaining Committee agreed to a deal with Fiat Chrysler to add $4.5 billion in investments, translating to 7,900 jobs over the course of a four-year deal, according to a UAW statement. The $4.5 billion comes on top of an earlier pledge of $4.5 billion for a total of $9 billion marked for new investment, UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada said in the statement.
Fiat Chrysler confirmed in a statement that it had reached a tentative deal with UAW.
A final agreement is likely at least a week or two away from being approved or rejected by rank-and-file union members. The UAW-Fiat Chrysler National Council will meet on Dec. 4 to go over details of the proposed deal. If adopted, the tentative agreement will go to all Fiat Chrysler hourly and salary workers for a ratification vote that will begin on Dec. 6, according to the statement.
The pact is expected to share many of the same terms as the union's recent contracts with Ford Motor and General Motors. Those deals included 3% raises or 4% lump-sum bonuses each year of the contract, retention of roughly 3% out-of-pocket health-care costs and a path for temporary workers to become full-time employees.
"Out of respect for our members, we will refrain from commenting any further or releasing full details of the agreement until the UAW-FCA Council leaders meet and review the details," said Estrada in the statement.
GM also agreed to $11,000 ratification bonuses for most of its full-time employees. Ford agreed to $9,000 ratification bonuses, however previous contracts have included lower amounts for Fiat Chrysler workers.
The federal probe into corruption of the UAW, which started with Fiat Chrysler, has led to charges against 13 people, including seven convictions of people affiliated with the union and three Fiat Chrysler executives.
Strategic Resource Group managing director Burt Flickinger discusses the markets and holiday shopping.
More than half of consumers are shopping online for their holiday gifts, according to a new report.
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According to the Holiday Outlook 2019 report released by PwC, 54 percent of respondents plan to do their holiday shopping online, compared to 46 percent who plan to go in-store.
That’s almost the opposite of the trends in 2015 when 58 percent said they planned to shop in-store and 42 percent said they planned to shop online.
The report also found that younger generations who are planning to shop online expect to use their phones almost as much as their personal computers to make purchases.
Meanwhile, older generations who are planning to shop online plan to use their personal computers over their smartphones.
However, millennials (as well as metro residents and Amazon Prime members, according to the report) are also looking to have more of an experience when they shop.
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More than half of the millennials overall who responded said they believe shopping is “an event to be experienced," which includes eating out, while only 44 percent of all consumers agreed with that sentiment.
PwC also found that 60 percent of young millennials (aged 24 to 27) said they would “go out of my way for a superior shopping experience,” whereas only 40 percent of all consumers agreed.
Even though Black Friday has traditionally been viewed as one of the biggest days of holiday shopping, PwC found that only 36 percent of respondents said they would go shopping on Black Friday itself. Back in 2015, that number was 59 percent.
In fact, only 19 percent of people said they planned to finish their holiday shopping during the week of Black Friday, while 49 percent said they would finish their shopping after that week.
According to PwC, Black Friday has become less important because of the increase in online shopping, other deals that Amazon runs on Prime Day and the fact that retailers start offering Black Friday deals much earlier in the month.
Similarly, a study from Deloitte found that 53 percent of people will take advantage of Cyber Monday deals, with only 44 percent shopping Black Friday discounts.
PwC even found that while 24 percent of people don’t plan to shop at all on Thanksgiving Day, 32 percent said they would shop online, 17 percent said they would shop in-store and 22 percent said they would do both.
Overall, consumers are expected to spend an average of $1,284 on entertainment, gifts and travel, according to the report, which is an increase of 2.7 percent from last year.
We've gone through all the major retailers to scope out the best deals across the tech spectrum and there are some pretty killer deals on laptops, TVs, headphones, smartphones, tablets, and gaming devices heading into day two.
Rather than making you go through pages and pages of deals, we're offering you a condensed list of all of the best ones. We just like you that much.
So, enjoy your holiday weekend and happy shopping!
Best laptop deals
Image: Lili Sams / Mashable
The laptop deals we're most hyped about are the MacBook Pro deals at Best Buy. Select models are $200 or $300 off and they come with a year free of Apple TV+ and three months free of Apple Music. MacBook deals can be pretty hit or miss, so it's good to see a solid hit, especially on the new MacBooks Pros with Touch Bar. There's also a MacBook Air model that's $200 off at Best Buy.
Bigger is not always better when it comes to TVs. Sure, an 85-inch TV sounds awesome until it's time to figure out where you can actually fit it in your home. (If you have that kind of space, then congrats, no need to flex.) We're loving the TCL 50-inch 4K Roku TV on sale at Walmart for $249.99, saving you $230, proving that you don't have to drop a small fortune for a decently sized 4K smart TV.
55-inch Samsung 4K UHD OLED Smart TV (Q60R) — $699.99 at Best Buy and $697.99 at Walmart
65-inch Samsung 4K UHD OLED Smart TV Q70R — $1,199.99 at Best Buy and $1,197.99 at Walmart
Sennheiser might not be the first name that pops into your mind when you think of headphones, but it's definitely a brand to watch. Sennheiser's HD 4.50 SE wireless noise-canceling headphones are a pretty stellar audio accessory. And $79.95 (their Black Friday price) is a really great price to pay for a decent pair of noise-canceling headphones from a reputable brand.
Best smartphone deals
Image: GOOGLE / MASHABLE COMPOSITE
Google is winning the smartphone Black Friday game. Pixel phones are up to $350 off — even the new Pixel 4 is on sale. Let's see Apple do that.
How much you should spend on a tablet depends on what you're going to use it for. If you're an artist or designer, the more advanced iPad Pro is probably the better option for you. But if you just want a tablet as another screen to watch Netflix, browse Twitter, or play Candy Crush we recommend the standard iPad, which happens to be $80 off for Black Friday.
The Kiefer police officer went to the Starbucks in Glenpool on Thanksgiving day to pick up five drinks, CNN affiliate KTUL reported. Kiefer Chief Johnny O'Mara told the news station a customer pointed out the label on the cups to the officer.
"What irks me is the absolute and total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being home with family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town," O'Mara wrote in a Facebook post, where he shared a picture of a cup with the "PIG" label on it.
The coffee company called the incident "absolutely unacceptable" and said it is "deeply sorry to the law enforcement officer who experienced this."
"The Starbucks partner who wrote this offensive word on a cup used poor judgement and is no longer a partner after this violation of company policy," the statement read. "This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe."
In a joint statement, Starbucks and Kiefer police said they're using the incident "as an opportunity to leverage our shared platforms to promote greater civility."
The company will meet with Kiefer police to discuss ways to work together, including by jointly hosting a Coffee with a Cop event at Starbucks for local law enforcement to meet with baristas and community members to discuss "the critical role dispatchers and police offers play in keeping our communities safe," the joint statement said.
Daimler, the German carmaker that owns Mercedes-Benz, has said it will shed at least 10,000 jobs worldwide as it seeks to fund the switch to electric cars.
Daimler personnel chief Wilfried Porth told journalists the number of jobs lost would be "in the five figures".
Daimler said the car industry was going through "the biggest transformation in its history".
"The development towards CO2-neutral mobility requires large investments, which is why Daimler announced in the middle of November that it would launch a programme to increase competitiveness, innovation and investment strength," the firm said.
"Part of this programme is to reduce staff costs by around €1.4bn by the end of 2022 and, among other things, to reduce the number of management positions worldwide by 10%."
Electric cars
Daimler, which has a global workforce of nearly 300,000 and factories in 17 countries, said it would reduce costs and employment "in a socially responsible manner", including the use of "natural fluctuation".
"In addition, the possibilities for part-time retirement will be expanded and a severance programme will be offered in Germany in order to reduce jobs in the administration," it added.
Daimler said its plans had been agreed with the firm's works council, which includes union representation.
German carmakers have been slow to adapt to new technological trends, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles.
At the same time, they have been suffering falling demand in China, while the trade war between Washington and Bejing has also dented growth.
U.S. consumers splurged more than $2 billion online in the first hours of Thanksgiving shopping on Thursday, while crowds were largely thin at retailers on the eve of Black Friday, reflecting the broader trend away from shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.
Early discounts offered this month by chains seeking to extend this year's shorter holiday season saw a dip in the numbers lining up at stores across the country, according to consultants and analysts making spot checks on the ground.
"We've seen many merchants start their promotions pretty much right after the trick-or-treaters have gone to bed," said Lauren Bitar, head of retail consulting at analytics firm RetailNext.
Jennifer Yen pulls to shopping carts full of items at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Denver, Colorado.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Sales made prior to Thanksgiving and Black Friday could erode "the spike that we have seen in sales dollars historically," Bitar said.
The day after Thanksgiving has been America's biggest shopping day, and this year more than 165 million people are expected to take part over the weekend, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
While Black Friday still matters, its relevance is fading as the holiday shopping season now begins the week before Halloween and stretches to Christmas Eve with retailers offering deep discounts throughout the season.
The condensed shopping season this year accelerated early promotions and spending. Retailers have six fewer days to make sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day this year.
That has pulled spending into early November — more than half of consumers polled by the NRF in the first week of this month had already begun making purchases. On average, Americans had already completed almost a quarter of their shopping, the most in the history of NRF's surveys.
Store openings on Thanksgiving evening have also reduced store crowds lining up for doorbuster deals at the crack of dawn on Friday.
While store traffic still remains an important indicator, a lot of shopping during Thanksgiving and Black Friday now happens online. Adobe Analytics, which measures transactions from 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers, estimates $7.5 billion in sales for Black Friday online, a growth of over 20.5% year-over-year.
As of 5 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day, shoppers had spent $2.1 billion online, up 20.2% on a year ago.
Companies including Walmart, Target, Costco, and Best Buy have bulked up their online presence, deliveries and fast in-store pickups to attract customers.
At the other end of the divide, specialty apparel retailers Gap, Victoria Secret-owner L Brands, and department stores Macy's and Kohl's have slumped as they struggle to lure shoppers to malls and away from online giants like Amazon.com.
This year's holiday season will not only test the resilience of such companies but will be a challenge for most retailers as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China begins to take its toll on margins.
A pricing analysis conducted for Reuters by retail analytics firm Profitero, which examined online prices from seven large retailers for 21,000 products, found sites including Walmart and Amazon have held prices steady for many popular holiday products despite the pressure from tariffs on Chinese imports.
The National Retail Federation had forecast U.S. holiday retail sales in November and December will increase between 3.8% and 4.2% over 2018, for a total of $727.9 billion to $730.7 billion. That compares with an average annual increase of 3.7% over the past five years.
PARIS — People don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in France, or Russia, or South Africa – but they do shop on Black Friday.
The U.S. sales phenomenon has spread to retailers across the world in recent years with such force that it’s prompting a backlash from some activists, politicians and even consumers.
Workers at Amazon in Germany went on strike for better pay on one of the busiest days of the year. Near Paris, climate demonstrators blocked one of the retail giant’s warehouses to protest over-production they say is killing the planet. Some French lawmakers want to ban Black Friday altogether.
Consumer rights groups in Britain and some other countries say retailers use Black Friday as a slogan to lure in shoppers, but it’s not always clear how real or big the discounts are. Other critics say it hurts small businesses. Globalized commerce has brought U.S. consumer tastes to shoppers around the world, from Halloween candy to breakfast cereal and peanut butter, sometimes even supplanting local traditions.
To French activists, Black Friday is the epitome of this shift, a purely commercial event designed to boost U.S. retailers ahead of the Christmas holidays, the symbol of capitalism run amok.
“The planet burns, oceans die, and we still want to consume, consume, and therefore produce, produce – until we eradicate all living things? … We will not betray our children for a 30% discount!” reads a manifesto by groups holding “Block Friday” protests around Paris.
In Britain, where the big winter sales have traditionally been held on the day after Christmas, companies have been adopting Black Friday marketing campaigns since about 2010. After a rise in business on the day in the first years, the volume of shopping has leveled off, with most of it happening online over multiple days.
Research by a U.K. consumer association found that 61% of goods advertised in Black Friday deals last year were cheaper or about the same price both before and after the event.
That echoes similar warnings in other countries. Russia’s consumer watchdog issued a long statement with tips on how to avoid getting fooled, like checking whether prices were raised before Friday to make deals look good or whether delivery costs are inflated.
Shoppers wait to enter Macys department store scheduled to open at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day for Black Friday.AFP via Getty Images
The Black Friday advertising push has extended beyond the one day to Cyber Monday, with retailers in several countries spreading them across what’s often called “Black Week.”
In the Czech Republic, one electronics chain encourages shoppers – in English, of course – to “Make Black Friday Great Again,” in an ad featuring a suited man wearing the distinctive red cap used by U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign.
While the phenomenon is less widespread in Asia, some major companies like Japan Airlines use it as a slogan.
Broadcasters in South Africa showed people waiting in line to shop in one of the world’s most socially and economically unequal nations. The respected weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper decried in a scathing editorial how Black Friday is used to enrich big retailers.
“Like no other day, this Friday shows how broken the world we have built is,” it said. Among other concerns is that Black Friday could hurt small businesses that do not have the vast marketing budgets and online sales presence of big retail chains or multinationals.
In Italy, for example, Black Friday falls outside the season’s strictly defined schedule for when the winter shop sales can be held. This year, sales cannot be held from Dec. 5 until Jan. 4, when stores are allowed to clear out stock. The fashion industry has warned that can hurt smaller retailers in a country that relies on them heavily.
A French legislative committee passed an amendment Monday that proposes prohibiting Black Friday because it causes “resource waste” and “overconsumption.” France’s e-commerce union, whose members are aggressively marketing Black Friday sales throughout November, has condemned the measure.
Dozens of French activists blocked the Amazon warehouse in Bretigny-sur Orge on Thursday, spreading hay and old refrigerators and microwaves on the driveway. They held signs in front of the warehouse gates reading “Amazon: For the climate, for jobs, stop expansion, stop over-production!” The activists were later dislodged by police.
Daimler, the German carmaker that owns Mercedes-Benz, has said it will shed at least 10,000 jobs worldwide as it seeks to fund the switch to electric cars.
Daimler personnel chief Wilfried Porth told journalists the number of jobs lost would be "in the five figures".
Daimler said the car industry was going through "the biggest transformation in its history".
"The development towards CO2-neutral mobility requires large investments, which is why Daimler announced in the middle of November that it would launch a programme to increase competitiveness, innovation and investment strength," the firm said.
"Part of this programme is to reduce staff costs by around €1.4bn by the end of 2022 and, among other things, to reduce the number of management positions worldwide by 10%."
Electric cars
Daimler, which has a global workforce of nearly 300,000 and factories in 17 countries, said it would reduce costs and employment "in a socially responsible manner", including the use of "natural fluctuation".
"In addition, the possibilities for part-time retirement will be expanded and a severance programme will be offered in Germany in order to reduce jobs in the administration," it added.
Daimler said its plans had been agreed with the firm's works council, which includes union representation.
German carmakers have been slow to adapt to new technological trends, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles.
At the same time, they have been suffering falling demand in China, while the trade war between Washington and Bejing has also dented growth.
The demonstrations are expected to intensify the debate about the environmental impact of Black Friday, which some French lawmakers want to ban in the country.
Earlier this week France's Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne warned against the "consumption frenzy" linked to Black Friday.
The shopping day, during which retailers claim to offer large discounts, began in the US on the Friday after Thanksgiving but has in recent years spread to other countries.
Why did the activists target Amazon?
Environmentalists have accused Amazon of accelerating climate change through its rapid delivery services, which they say contribute to greenhouse gases emissions.
At Thursday's protest, about 40km (24 miles) south of Paris, some activists held banners which read: "Amazon: for the climate, for employment, stop expanding, stop over-production".
Where else are protests expected?
The blockade was part of the "Block Friday" demonstrations that are aiming to disrupt Amazon's business operations nationwide.
More demonstrations are expected on Friday, with environmental groups threatening to turn November 29 into a "Black Day for Amazon".
As of Friday morning, dozens of activists from various groups had gathered outside Amazon France's facilities, including its headquarters in Clichy, north-west of Paris.
One of the groups, anti-globalisation movement Attac, said it will "take action across France to disrupt Amazon's business".
In a statement on Twitter, Amazon France said (in French) that it respects "everyone's right to express their opinions" but disagrees with the means used by Attac.
"Amazon's priority is to serve its customers and deliver on its delivery promises," it said. "Our network is robust, reliable, and flexible, and we continue to deliver to our customers without interruption while ensuring the safety of our employees."
A third of people surveyed by YouGov France said they were not planning to take part in this year's Black Friday sales. A majority of respondents - 57% - said they believe Black Friday promotions are false.
Are French MPs banning Black Friday?
Some MPs want to, citing concerns over the effects of consumerism on the planet.
An "anti-waste" bill was amended to include a proposal to prohibit Black Friday by a French legislative committee on Monday.
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France's former environment minister Delphine Batho tabled the amendment, which will be debated next month in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
"Black Friday celebrates a model of consumption that is anti-ecological and anti-social," said MP Mattieu Orphelin, a former member of President Emmanuel Macron's LREM party.
A trade union in France has opposed the proposal. So too have conservative MPs, including Republican lawmaker Eric Woerth, who called the debate over the amendment a "useless row".
Meanwhile, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo is considering implementing new regulations to protect the climate, including a tax on deliveries to ease traffic jams and pollution caused by Amazon and other companies.
In the age of e-commerce, Black Friday can feel like an anachronism. But don’t be fooled. The Friday after Thanksgiving remains enormously important — at least symbolically — to the retail industry. And millions of shoppers will still be out in stores, working off that turkey and stuffing by racing to find the best deals.
Many others will simply stay at home, content to cruise the internet to do their shopping. Whether it’s in stores or online, our reporters will be covering it here, with a little help from our friends at The Wirecutter.
Shopping has become easier, and more fun
It’s hard to think of a better time to be a shopper. There’s one-day delivery, online purchases with in-store pick up, even $17 cocktails served while you shop for shoes.
Retailers are trying to be all things to all shoppers, but it is proving to be a tough and, some say, unsustainable way to run their business. The more money retailers invest in new initiatives to boost sales, the more their profit margins seem to shrink.
Dozens of retailers have warned that profits in the all-important fourth quarter, which includes holiday sales, are likely to be lower than previously expected.
Amazon is driving a lot of this pain, as old-school retailers try to catch up with the online giant, which sets the standard for speed and convenience.
-Michael Corkery
Hoping to find Gucci in the bargain bin
When Barneys, the iconic Manhattan department store, was sold for pieces last month, it marked the end of an era in New York retailing. It also set the hearts of consumers racing, as talk of an unprecedented liquidation sale swirled. What sorts of deals could be had on cashmere? Would Gucci be in the bargain bin?
Alas, consumers have since been disappointed. Barneys’ liquidators — led by B. Riley Financial’s Great American Group — have largely limited the discounts to just 5 percent or 10 percent off the chain’s luxury wares. Twitter has been rife with incredulous shoppers. “I just checked out Barneys New York closing down sale and socks are $97,” one user wrote. Another remarked that they needed more than 10 percent off, noting, “This is like a rich folks sale.”
This week, however, B. Riley said it would deepen discounts at Barneys beginning on Wednesday, for an average of 30 to 35 percent off items throughout the weekend. It promised additional promotions for in-store shoppers. There’s a chance that will spur consumers into action — though shoppers may continue to wait for even bigger discounts during December, as the liquidators will have to offload all of the inventory at some point.
-Sapna Maheshwari
Five things to avoid on Black Friday
Though you’d think now is when you’ll find the best deals on, well, everything on your wish list, The Wirecutter Deals team has found that’s not exactly the case.
If you’ve got your eye on big exercise equipment, mattresses, or organizational products, you’re better off waiting a few months for more impressive price drops. Treadmills and ellipticals, for example, almost always see better discounts in January. So do items for maximizing storage, like bins and dividers, just in time to help people achieve their resolutions. Mattresses from online brands, on the other hand, see a drop in prices during Presidents’ Day sales in February.
Other things to steer clear of this Black Friday are not so much specific products as they are ideas you may be susceptible to, like buying in bulk or buying something you already have just because the price is good. Both are better in theory than they are in practice: Very few people actually need 40 snack bags of Cheetos or a third Bluetooth speaker, no matter how badly they’re tempted.
-Elissa Sanci
In Europe, mixed emotions over Black Friday
Thanksgiving is just another Thursday in Europe, but Black Friday is a bone of contention: embraced by some and rejected by others as an alarming invasion of American consumerism.
Black Friday sales can be found in many countries, from small stationers to major chains to car dealers. In Britain, many retailers, like John Lewis & Partners, a source of appliances and furniture, started offering Black Friday discounts days ago. Curry’s PC World, an electronics retailer, has a “black tag” event claiming savings of up to 50 percent.
On the rue Vieille du Temple in the Marais district of central Paris, nearly every boutique within a one-block stretch is plastered with signs promoting “Black Friday” in English. While France has been slower than other European countries to join the trend, retailers forecast 6 billion euros in sales this year around the event.
In some cases, something is lost in translation. In Germany, the “Friday” is often dropped in signs promoting a “Black Sale” or “Black Week.”
But a backlash has been gaining steam. In France, lawmakers this week moved to crack down on the sales with a proposal to ban some Black Friday promotions starting next year, citing misleading pricing tactics and the rising environmental cost from the delivery of millions of packages.
Élisabeth Borne, the French environment minister, warned of “a frenzy of consumption” in which people are encouraged to buy products they don’t need.
“We need to consume better, not more,” she added.
Parisian authorities also asked the government to allow cities to slap a so-called eco-tax on Amazon and other delivery platforms to make e-commerce players pay for pollution and rising delivery traffic.
“Black Friday gives us an overview of what to expect,” Jean-Louis Missika, the deputy mayor of Paris, wrote in an open letter Monday to the French daily Le Monde. “2.5 million deliveries are expected, 10 times more than the number of packages delivered daily the rest of the year in Paris.”
Protesters from the Extinction Rebellion movement plan “Block Friday” demonstrations in cities throughout France on Friday.
You've polished off your pumpkin pie and the fights with your relatives are fading into memory. It can only mean one thing: Black Friday is well and truly here. There are deals aplenty live right now from major stores such as Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and others. We've spent the past several weeks prepping, and the past few days collating, and you can see the result of our work below: Dozens of stories focusing on the best Black Friday deals at all major retailers,
Here's the ultimate sales guide to keep your head from spinning (and your budget on track) this holiday shopping season. And of course, the Cheapskate's top Black Friday picks.
Best Buy: Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 9:01 p.m. PT (Thursday, Nov. 28 at 12:01 a.m. ET)
Target: Sales started Wednesday, Nov. 27, but timing is complicated According to Target: "On Nov. 27, early access deals begin at approximately 2:01 a.m. CT (12:01 a.m. PT, 3 a.m. ET) for credit and debit RedCard holders and 6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. ET) for Target Circle members. RedCard early access price applied when you use your RedCard at checkout on Target.com. Target Circle early access price applied when you sign into your Target.com account at checkout on Target.com after 6 p.m. CT. Target Circle and RedCard Black Friday early access offers are not the same, and all deals will be revealed on Nov. 27."
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How to get great deals on Black Friday
