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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted Tuesday that there could be chaos in the skies next week if the government shutdown drags on and air traffic controllers miss a second paycheck. There have already been numerous delays at airports across the countrysometimes hours longbecause the Federal Aviation Administration slows down or stops traffic temporarily anytime it is short on controllers. Last weekend saw some of the worst staff shortages and on Sunday, flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were delayed for several hours. Duffy and the head of the air traffic controllers union have both warned that the situation will only get worse the longer the shutdown continues and the financial pressure continues to grow on people who are forced to work without pay. FAA employees already missed one paycheck on Oct. 28. Their next payday is scheduled for next Tuesday. Many of the controllers said, A lot of us can navigate missing one paycheck. Not everybody, but a lot of us can. None of us can manage missing two paychecks, Duffy said. So if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays. Youll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we dont have air traffic controllers. Most of the flight disruptions so far during the shutdown have been isolated and temporary. But if delays become more widespread and start to ripple throughout the system, the pressure will mount on Congress to reach an agreement to end the shutdown. Major airlines, aviation unions, and the travel industry have been urging Congress to end this shutdown as soon as possible by voting to support the clean funding resolution that Republicans have proposed. The U.S. Travel Association said in a letter to Congressional leaders this week that the economy has already lost more than $4 billion because of the shutdown, and the industry worries the impact will get significantly worse if the shutdown continues into the holiday travel season. With Thanksgiving, the busiest travel period of the year, imminently approaching, the consequences of a continued shutdown will be immediate, deeply felt by millions of American travelers, and economically devastating to communities in every state, the U.S. Travel Association said. Normally, airlines strive to have at least 80% of their flights depart and arrive within 15 minutes of when they are scheduled. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the total number of delays overall has not fallen significantly below that goal because most of the disruptions so far have been no worse than what happens when a major thunderstorm moves across an airport. But on Sunday, only about 56% of Newark’s departures were on time, and the Orlando airport reported that only about 70% of its flights were on time, according to Cirium. As of midday Tuesday, there have been 1,932 flight delays reported across the United States, according to www.FlightAware.com. That is lower than what is typical although the FAA did say that flights in Phoenix were being delayed Tuesday morning because of staffing shortages. Strong winds are also causing delays at the Newark and LaGuardia airports Tuesday. Josh Funk, AP transportation writer
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E-Commerce
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, one of Tesla’s biggest investors, said Tuesday that it will vote against a proposed compensation package that could pay CEO Elon Musk as much as $1 trillion over a decade. There will be more than a dozen company proposals up for a vote Thursday during Tesla’s annual meeting, but none have generated more division than Musk’s potentially massive pay package. While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musks visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk consistent with our views on executive compensation, said Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the countrys Government Pension Fund Global. We will continue to seek constructive dialogue with Tesla on this and other topics. The fund has a 1.16% stake, the sixth largest holding among institutional investors. Baron Capital Management, which holds about 0.4% of Tesla’s outstanding shares, said Monday that it will vote in favor of the compensation package. Elon is the ultimate ‘key man’ of key man risk. Without his relentless drive and uncompromising standards, there would be no Tesla, wrote founder Ron Baron. He has built one of the most important companies in the world. Hes redefining transportation, energy, and humanoid robotics and creating lasting value for shareholders while doing it. His interests are completely aligned with investors. Musk is the company’s largest investor, holding 15.79% of all outstanding shares. Tesla management has proposed a compensation arrangement that would hand Musk shares worth as much as 12% of the company in a dozen separate packages if the company meets ambitious performance targets, including massive increases in car production, share price, and operating profit.
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E-Commerce
Pizza Hut could soon be up for sale. Yum Brands, Pizza Huts parent company, said Tuesday its conducting a formal review of options for the brand, which has struggled to compete in a crowded pizza market. Yum CEO Chris Turner said Pizza Hut has many strengths, including a global footprint and strong growth in many markets. Pizza Hut has nearly 20,000 stores in more than 100 countries, and its international sales were up 2% in the first nine months of this year. China is its second-largest market outside the U.S. But Pizza Hut gets nearly half its sales from the U.S., where it has around 6,500 stores, and U.S. sales fell 7% in the same period. Pizza Hut was long saddled with large, outdated dine-in restaurants at a time when consumers wanted fast pickup and delivery. In 2020, one of Pizza Hut’s largest franchisees filed for bankruptcy protection and closed 300 stores. Pizza Hut now controls 15.5% of U.S. pizza chain sales, down from 19.4% in 2019, according to Technomic, a food service consulting company. The Pizza Hut team has been working hard to address business and category challenges; however, Pizza Huts performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum Brands, Turner said in a statement. To truly take advantage of the brand weve built and the opportunities ahead, weve made the decision to initiate a thorough review of strategic options. Yum has not set a deadline for the completion of the review. The company said it will not make any further comments on the review. Yum Brands shares were up nearly 7% in early afternoon trading Tuesday. The company also owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill. Yum said Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue rose 8% thanks to strong sales at both KFC and Taco Bell. Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by two brothers who borrowed $600 from their mother to open the store. They chose the name because their sign only had room for eight letters. Pizza Hut’s familiar red roof debuted in 1969, and by 1971, it was the top pizza chain in the world by sales. PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in 1977 but spun off its restaurant division which became Yum Brands in 1997. Domino’s, with its focus on delivery and carryout pizza, has since become the world’s largest pizza chain, with 21,750 stores. The news of Pizza Hut’s uncertain future comes the day after another 1950s-era dine-in icon, Denny’s, announced it was being sold to an investor group and taken private. Like Pizza Hut, Denny’s has also struggled with customers’ shift to delivery and growing competition in casual dining options. Dee-Ann Durbin, AP business writer
Category:
E-Commerce
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