From body to brains
Apple announced this week its plan to scale back on the secretive ‘Project Titan’. They have decided to focus on an autonomous driving system instead of building its own self-driving vehicle. Many alterations have come with this strategy adjustment, hundreds of jobs have been cut and employees have resigned or even just left the project. Its new focus has also spurred Apple to employ new people for a fresh intake of ideas and perspectives. It has been given a deadline of late 2017 in order to decide the final direction and prove the feasibility of the project.
After the project was formed in 2014 there have been many problems regarding leadership, months of disagreements and uncertainty. Employees left the company after doubts spread about the product ever making it to the market. The project was first introduced to compete with Tesla’s own vehicle. However, now Apple is more flexible with no direct competition and opens the opportunity for it to become a supplier of the technology, if successful. It could result in the restart of production for an entire Apple self-driving model. Over the coming year there will most likely be stories on Apple’s progress with the system, but no certain future until late 2017. Only then will we know Project Titan’s real stance.
Find out more on Apple’s new direction here.
Farewell fresh veg
The latest story to come from Brexit is the fear of fresh British vegetables being wiped out. Strict controls on immigration will affect the amount of Eastern Europeans from entering and working in the UK. Brexit aims to reduce the 180,000 EU nationals to just 10’s of thousands. This will therefore have a huge effect on labor, as it has come to light that local British citizens are unwilling to take this type of seasonal work, picking fruit and vegetables in fields. The unappealing nature comes from the lack of prospective advancement. When compared to work in the worker’s home countries, they are paid higher wages for easy work
Multiple farmers have stated that after just 5 days without these workers, supermarkets will no longer be stocking home-grown vegetables. By minimizing the amount of Eastern European workers, this supply chain will be severely affected. Produce will have to be sourced from overseas, risking safety and increasing costs.
To read more on the farmers’ views click here.
Samsung Moving forward
After the Galaxy Note 7 scandal, Samsung has planned to invest $296 million in its Noida plant in India over the next 3 years. The investment will see the expansion of the plant doubling in size and manufacturing output. An additional 2,200 jobs will be created at the plant itself, and an increase of indirect jobs along the supply chain are expected once suppliers grow to match the demand of Samsung’s products. The aim of the deal is to tackle the problems in production and the predicted slowdown of sales worldwide, due to the failure of the Note 7. Therefore, there will be more focus on increasing sales and production of its more successful smartphones and doubling production to 12 million smartphones a month.
Samsung started production at the plant in 1996 and now leads the Indian smartphone market by 46%. The ‘Make in India’ initiative will be boosted from the expansion and further Samsung’s commitment to ‘Make for India’, supporting the government’s action. Its goal is to better tailor its manufacturing to the needs and demands of its growing Indian market.
More information on the investment can be found here.
Have a great weekend!
