Waffle House faces strike over meal deductions | Bell fires workers on video call | Subaru recalls vehicles over airbag issue

In today’s Portfolio Intelligence Daily, where we highlight under the radar investment themes and idiosyncratic company risks:?

• Waffle House faces strike over meal deductions
• Bell fires workers on video call
• Subaru recalls vehicles over airbag issue

Auquan’s analyst team curates these summaries from our intelligence engine, which uses retrieval augmented generation (RAG AI) to uncover unique insights at scale, typically involving emerging markets, supply chains, financially-material ESG risks, and the impact of regulatory changes.

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Waffle House faces strike over meal deductions

Georgia Waffle House workers went on strike demanding better working conditions, pay raises, and an end to the company's "meal credit" policy.

• The policy deducts at least $3 from workers' pay per shift, regardless of whether they consume a meal, potentially totaling nearly $30 million annually nationwide.
• About 13,000 workers signed a petition to the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate the policy.
• The strike follows previous protests in Atlanta over safety measures and fair wages.
• Workers also seek a $25 per hour minimum wage and security at all restaurants.

Select timeline

• March 26, 2024 | Georgia Waffle House workers strike over mandatory 'meal credit' deductions (Yahoo)
• March 26, 2024 | Georgia Waffle House workers strike over mandatory 'meal credit' deductions (Fox5 Atlanta)
• November 17, 2023 | Waffle House charges employees for food — even if they don’t eat it (Today)

Bell fires workers on video call

Bell laid off 400 workers via virtual meetings, criticized by Unifor as "beyond shameful." The union accused Bell of lacking transparency in the layoff process.

• Bell announced 4,800 job cuts (9% of its workforce) in February, citing the need for organizational simplification and transformation.
• Layoffs of 400 employees were conducted via brief virtual meetings, prompting criticism from Unifor for the impersonal approach.
• Unifor condemned the layoffs as "beyond shameful" due to the abruptness and lack of consultation.
• Terminated employees received notices in 10-minute video calls, termed as "surplus" without opportunity for discussion.

Select timeline

• March 27, 2024 | Canada-based telecommunications giant lays off hundreds of employees (TOI)
• March 26, 2024 | Bell Lays Off 400 Employees In 10-Minute Video Calls; Union Terms It 'Beyond Shameful' (NEWS18)
• March 26, 2024 | Bell Layoffs: Hundreds Employees Laid Off In 10-minute Video Calls (Zeenews)

Subaru recalls vehicles over airbag issue

Subaru recalls 118,723 SUVs and sedans in the U.S. due to an airbag issue preventing deployment.

• Recall affects Outback and Legacy models made between 2020 and 2022.
• The problem stems from a cracked and short-circuited capacitor in the Occupant Detection System (ODS) sensors, potentially disabling the front passenger airbag during a crash.
• Dealers will replace the ODS sensors on the front passenger seat at no cost to customers.
• Subaru advises owners not to use the front-passenger seat until the repair is performed and provides a tool for checking whether their vehicle is affected.

Select timeline

• March 27, 2024 | Subaru to recall over 118,000 vehicles in US, NHTSA says (Reuters)
• March 27, 2024 | Subaru issues urgent recall for 118,000 SUVs and sedans in America (Dailymail)
• December 11, 2023 | Subaru issues recall for over 95K Crosstreks, Foresters, Legacys and Outbacks (LiveNowFox)

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