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 by Staff Writers Brussels (AFP) July 16, 2018
German auto giant Volkswagen has fixed millions of cars found with emissions cheating software since a 2015 scandal, but must do more to satisfy consumers, the EU said Monday. "Volkswagen has largely fulfilled the action plan they promised, EU consumer affairs commissioner Vera Jourova said. However, she said the firm's attitude to European car owners was one of "think small," borrowing a slogan from the automaker in 1959 to draw consumers to smaller cars. In the United States, Volkswagen agreed to pay compensation to owners and dealers. Jourova said the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, and the national consumer authorities also "regretted that the company did not give a full and clear guarantee in case of problems after the repair." The firm rolled out the action plan to fix emissions software after admitting in 2015 to having installed so-called defeat devices on 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide to cheat regulatory tests. Jourova said Volkswagen had repaired about 80 percent of the 8.5 million cars in Europe found to have the defeat devices. She said the repair rate varied from 96 percent of cars in Germany to 36 percent of those in Romania but added customers who have not done so yet would have now until 2020 to have their cars repaired.
US investigates possible gender bias at Uber The US Equal Opportunity Commission began the probe in August of last year focusing on whether women at Uber were treated the same as their male counterparts when it came to pay or opportunity at the San Francisco-based startup, according to the source. The source indicated Uber is one of several Silicon Valley firms being reviewed for potential gender discrimination. The probe began as Uber ousted its chief executive in response to a series of missteps and revelations about a toxic workplace culture and ethically dubious business practices at the global ride-hailing giant. "We are continually improving as a company and have proactively made a lot of changes in the last 18 months," an Uber spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry. Changes made at Uber include a new salary structure; an overhauled performance review process, and diversity training for company employees worldwide, according to the spokesman. Uber in May was hit with a lawsuit in California alleging sexual harassment and discrimination against female employees, apparently the first case in court since the ride-hailing giant scrapped a requirement for arbitration of such claims. The suit filed in California superior court contended the company work culture was "permeated with degrading, marginalizing, discriminatory, and sexually harassing conduct towards women" and that this was perpetuated and condoned by managers. Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi was hired last year to lead the company after its image was battered by a litany of controversies about a cutthroat workplace, sexism, and unscrupulous tactics with regulators and rivals. Uber launched an "urgent investigation" after an engineer who worked at the company until late 2016 alleged that her manager made sexual advances shortly after she joined. She wrote in a blog post that she complained to more senior managers and the company's human resources department, but was told that it was the man's "first offense" and that they wouldn't feel comfortable punishing a "high performer." The woman said she met other female Uber engineers who said they had experienced similar harassment. Uber hired former attorney general Eric Holder to review workplace conditions after the allegations. The probe resulted in firings and an outline for needed changes.
Tesla unveils Shanghai factory plans amid US-China trade row Shanghai (AFP) July 10, 2018 Tesla unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a factory in Shanghai to dramatically increase its production capacity, with boss Elon Musk making his electric-car company's biggest overseas move yet just as a US-China trade battle heats up. Musk said the plant, which has been in the works for a year, would eventually have an annual production capacity of 500,000 cars, and he hoped it would be "completed very soon." The announcement of the new Tesla venture comes as US companies face pressure from US P ... read more
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