Business

(NEW YORK) — DoorDash and Uber Eats issued statements this week announcing changes to their respective tipping policies in response to a new minimum wage increase for app-based food delivery workers in New York City.

Earlier this fall, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that “apps should immediately pay delivery workers the Minimum Pay Rate of at least $17.96 per hour,” according to the New York City Department of Consumer Worker Protection.

In a statement in late November, following the state Supreme Court decision, Vilda Vera Mayuga, commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, hailed the ruling, saying, “The minimum pay rate of at least $17.96 per hour will help lift thousands of New Yorkers and their families out of poverty, while still allowing flexibility for both apps and workers … We thank the court for making the right decision and thank the hundreds of delivery workers who fought for their right to earn a dignified wage.”

Maria Torres-Springer, deputy mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce, added separately, “Delivery workers are a critical part of our city’s workforce and play a critical role in our local economy, yet to date, they have not been able to earn a living wage. We are grateful for the appellate court’s decision today and expect the delivery apps to start implementing the minimum pay rate immediately. When we lift up working New Yorkers, the whole city succeeds.”

In what they said was a direct result of that ruling, DoorDash and Uber Eats announced plans on Monday for New York City customers that do away with the formerly standard tipping prompt on the checkout page of the apps and add a new service fee to each transaction. Customers can still choose to include a tip once the delivery has been completed, and both companies assured delivery drivers that they will receive 100% of those tips.

While some consumers unaware of the city’s changes may have been caught off guard, DoorDash made an extensive push to explain how its updates would allow it “to better balance the impact of bad policies in NYC for everyone who uses our platform.”

“As we have repeatedly made clear in recent months, the ill-conceived, extreme minimum pay rate for food delivery workers in New York City will have significant consequences for everyone who uses our platform,” DoorDash said in statement about its New York City customer experience. “Unfortunately, these regulations will significantly increase the costs of facilitating delivery in NYC and force us to make a number of operational changes, which is why we’re providing an update on what local consumers and Dashers will be seeing beginning today.”

When the earnings standard was announced in June, DoorDash issued a statement saying the outcome would create unpopular consequences for the delivery worker experience.

In order to meet the new minimum pay rate, DoorDash said at the time that its platform and others would “have to increase costs on each order or reduce services in New York City,” stating that other impacts of the coming changes could include fewer opportunities for Dashers to work when they choose, customers potentially priced out of orders, and possible jobs lost at local restaurants.

DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub set out on a united front earlier this year to argue against the City Council measure in an effort to block such pay raises, but failed when New York Acting Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne rejected those arguments.

“Policies have consequences, and these changes come as a direct result of the extreme earnings standard imposed in New York City,” a DoorDash spokesperson told “Good Morning America” on Thursday. “The City itself acknowledged that platforms could make changes to our tipping structure to help meet the significantly increased costs, which is exactly what we’re doing and therefore should come as no surprise.”

They added, “We’re hopeful that these changes will allow us to better balance the impact across everyone who uses our platform and continue providing the best possible experience as we explore further changes to the platform in the months to come.”

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(NEW YORK) — Panera Bread is at the center of another wrongful death lawsuit after a Florida family claimed the restaurant’s caffeinated lemonade drink caused Dennis Brown to go into cardiac arrest.

The popular fast-casual chain issued warnings in late October and added signage on menus for the highly caffeinated “charged lemonade” beverages after a similar lawsuit alleged a woman died after drinking one.

In the wake of that death earlier this year, the restaurant chain at the time advised customers that the drinks contain “about as much caffeine as [Panera’s] Dark Roast Coffee,” and has cautioned customers to “use in moderation,” with disclaimers that it is “not recommended for children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.”

A standard order of Panera’s charged lemonade contains 13 milligrams of caffeine per ounce, but the iced drink did not previously account for possible ice dilution in its original nutrition descriptions on menus. ABC News has learned Panera is undertaking the process of updating its menu materials and information.

The 30-ounce large-size charged lemonade was previously listed on Panera’s menu as containing 390 milligrams at time of the first lawsuit, which is just 10 milligrams shy of the recommended daily maximum adult consumption amount of caffeine, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Panera menu now states the same drink contains 237 mg of caffeine.

The new lawsuit filed on Monday and obtained by ABC News, alleges that 46-year-old Brown, who was a member of the restaurant’s “sip club” that allows customers to order unlimited drinks, had consumed charged lemonades with his dinner at a Panera location near his job in Florida and later died while he was walking home.

The lawsuit states Panera advertised the plant-based “charged lemonades,” which come in three flavors, as taking lemonade to the next level with “clean caffeine” as an instant energy drink derived from guarana and green coffee extract.

According to ABC Atlanta affiliate station WSB-TV, Brown had a chromosomal disorder, and those close to him — including his supportive living coach, Deann Burgess — said that Brown “did not buy energy drinks or anything like that.” Brown’s family told WSB that Brown avoided energy drinks due to having high blood pressure.

Brown had been drinking charged lemonades for six days before he died, according to the lawsuit.

The suit further claims that the “unregulated beverage” purchased by Brown was “offered side-by-side with all of the store’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks; it was not advertised as an ‘energy drink’ nor were there any warnings to consumers.”

“Accordingly, Dennis consumed the Panera Charged Lemonade, reasonably confident it was a traditional lemonade containing a reasonable amount of caffeine safe for him to drink,” the suit declares.

“Upon information and belief, during his ninety-minutes at PBC, Dennis refilled his charged lemonade two additional times. Dennis had a known habit of drinking three beverages in a row,” the lawsuit further says.

Brown was found unresponsive on the sidewalk and pronounced dead at the scene on Oct. 9

“Panera expresses our deep sympathy for Mr. Brown’s family. Based on our investigation, we believe his unfortunate passing was not caused by one of the company’s products,” a spokesperson for Panera Bread told ABC News. “We view this lawsuit, which was filed by the same law firm as a previous claim, to be equally without merit. Panera stands firmly by the safety of our products.”

The FDA sent a written statement to WSB in Atlanta, writing, “The FDA is saddened to hear of the passing of a consumer and as always, takes seriously reports of illnesses or injury from regulated products.”

The agency added that it “generally does not comment on possible, pending or ongoing litigation” and “monitors the marketplace of FDA-regulated products and takes action as appropriate, including collaborating with the Federal Trade Commission regarding marketing claims.”

Family of college student sues Panera Bread over charged lemonade

The fast-casual eatery was previously named in a wrongful death lawsuit in Philadelphia in connection with the same caffeinated beverages after the family of University of Penn student Sarah Katz, 21, died of cardiac arrest after drinking charged lemonade from Panera.

“We were saddened to learn last week about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz. While our investigation is ongoing, out of an abundance of caution, we have enhanced our existing caffeine disclosure for these beverages at our bakery cafes, on our website and on the Panera app,” a spokesperson for Panera told ABC News then in a statement.

At age 5, Katz was diagnosed with Congenital Long QT Syndrome Type 1, which can result in potentially life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms due to potassium ion channels in the heart not working properly, disrupting the heart’s electrical activity.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by ABC News, at the time Katz drank the charged lemonade, it was not advertised by Panera as an “energy drink.”

“She was very aware of her health,” Katz’s roommate and friend Victoria Conway told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB. “She was very vigilant to avoid caffeine. She never drank coffee.”

A regular 20-ounce serving size of the charged lemonade contained 260 milligrams of caffeine, and the large 30-ounce size contained 390 milligrams.

“Generally at lower doses, caffeine is not harmful, but at higher doses we begin to discuss the negative effects they can have on our body,” ABC News medical contributor Dr. Darien Sutton said. “The FDA recommends that the average adult drinks no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine a day.”

That amount, 400 milligrams a day — which is approximately four or five cups of coffee — is “not generally associated with dangerous, negative effects” for healthy adults, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA notes that there is a “wide variation in both how sensitive people are to the effects of caffeine and how fast they metabolize it,” especially for certain conditions and some medications, which the FDA says “can make people more sensitive to caffeine’s effects.”

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(LOS ANGELES) — SAG-AFTRA members voted to ratify the deal that successfully ended the historic 118-day strike, the union announced on Tuesday.

The contract was approved with 78% voting in favor of the deal. SAG-AFTRA didn’t reveal the exact number of members who voted but said it was 38.15% of the union.

The union, which represents approximately 160,000 Hollywood performers, cleared members to return to work on Nov. 9 after SAG-AFTRA board members approved the then-tentative deal.

The three-year agreement is effective retroactively to Nov. 9, and expires June 30, 2026, the union said in a press release.

The union released the entire 128-page contract after Thanksgiving, valuing the deal at “more than $1 billion in new compensation and benefit plan funding.”

The deal provides a 7% increase in minimum rates in the first year and the first-ever protections against the use of artificial intelligence to replicate performances, requiring compensation and consent guardrails to protect performers from generative AI technology.

As part of the new deal, streaming services will pay bonuses to shows that reach a certain level of success, bonuses that the union estimates will be about $40 million per year.

“This contract is an enormous victory for working performers, and it marks the dawning of a new era for the industry. Getting to this point was truly a collective effort,” union president Fran Drescher and national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a joint statement Tuesday night.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, congratulated the union shortly after the announcement: “The AMPTP member companies congratulate SAG-AFTRA on the ratification of its new contract, which represents historic gains and protections for performers. With this vote, the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force.”

Actors began striking on July 14, joining the picket line alongside writers who went on strike on May 2, effectively leaving most of Hollywood at a standstill all summer.

The writers’ union, the Writers Guild of America, successfully ended its 148-day strike on Sept. 27, after reaching a tentative deal with the studios. That agreement was ratified by WGA membership on Oct. 9.

Final negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, the group negotiating on behalf of the studios, began on Oct. 2 and continued throughout the month and into early November. Disney, one of the studios represented by AMPTP, is the parent company of ABC News.

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(NEW YORK) — McDonald’s burgers have been an American classic since 1955, but the iconic fast food chain has some changes planned to improve its buns, cheese and even how to cook its quintessential burgers.

McDonald’s first announced in April that its signature Big Mac, McDouble, cheeseburger and hamburger would be made with softer buns, caramelized patties cooked with white onions on the grill, cheese slices that melt more and even an extra special sauce.

Chris Young, senior director of global menu strategy, told The Wall Street Journal in late November that McDonald’s current menu is “quick, fast and safe, but it doesn’t necessarily taste great. So, we want to incorporate quality into where we’re at.”

As The Wall Street Journal first reported, there will be more than 50 tweaks to improve the new burgers that have been tested at the company’s Chicago headquarters.

Chef Chad Schafer revealed that the new burger is cooked with onions on top of the beef patty, before a layer of room-temperature cheese is added for faster melting, and all held together with a softer, glossy brioche-style sesame seed bun.

In addition to the new buns with a thicker base to help preserve heat, McDonald’s will use dehydrated onions that rehydrate as they cook on the burgers. Lettuce and pickles will be stored in smaller containers so that restaurant crews will be required to replenish the supply more often from the cooler.

According to the Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s also discovered that cooking six burgers at once, instead of eight as they do now, “improved consistency and delivered fresher patties.”

For fans of the special sauce on a Big Mac, McDonald’s said it plans to increase the condiment usage to half an ounce, so that it can drip out onto the wrapper.

McDonald’s claims the improvements are so good even the Hamburgler is coming out of retirement to steal a bite.

The updated menu items have already been rolling out in restaurants along the West Coast, according to McDonald’s, and a few lucky ABC staffers and their families stopped by the Golden Arches in Los Angeles for a taste test.

Staffers agreed the food was indeed “very saucy” and “very cheesy” and one staffer’s young daughter added, “Yeah, very good!”

The McDonald’s changes are coming at a time when the burger business is heating up and McDonald’s continues to hang on to its market shares amid competition from other popular chains like Shake Shack, In-N-Out Burger and Five Guys.

Business experts like strategist Kathleen Griffith said these tweaks may help McDonald’s keep up with its rivals.

“Being that burger that people know, pulling out the original mascots, that sort of strategy is never going to get you into trouble when you work on driving a consistent customer experience. It’s a good recipe,” Griffith said.

The rolling launch is anticipated to be completed by 2024 and while McDonald’s is not planning to increase prices for these burgers, prices can vary by individual franchises.

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(NEW YORK) — Spotify plans to cut about 17% of its staff, CEO Daniel Ek said Monday.

“To be blunt, many smart, talented and hard-working people will be departing us,” Ek said in a note to staff posted on the company’s website.

The layoffs at the Stockholm-based music streaming service, which employs about 9,200 people, follow two rounds of cuts announced earlier this year.

The company said in June that 2% would be cut, following a 6% cut announced in January, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive,” Ek said on Monday. “Spotify is not an exception to these realities.”

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(NEW YORK) — Alaska Airlines will acquire Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion, their CEOs announced.

Although the two companies will be merged, they will continue to operate under their current names indefinitely.

As a combined airline, Alaska Airlines will serve 138 destinations, expanding “access throughout the Pacific region, Continental United States and globally,” the companies said.

Honolulu, Hawaii, will become a key hub city for Alaska Airlines, the companies said, “enabling greater international connectivity for West Coast travelers throughout the Asia-Pacific region with one-stop service through Hawai‘i.”

Hawaiian frequent fliers will now join the oneworld Alliance network of airlines, which includes Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and British Airways.

“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai‘i travelers,” Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines CEO, said.

Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO, also spoke about the billion-dollar merger. “Since 1929, Hawaiian Airlines has been an integral part of life in Hawai‘i, and together with Alaska Airlines we will be able to deliver more for our guests, employees and the communities that we serve,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — If you have a Gmail account you haven’t used in a while – it could be deleted as soon as today.

Starting Dec. 1, Google will begin purging accounts that have not been used or signed into for at least two years. That means emails, Google Drive, Google Docs, calendar entries and photos will all be erased from these dormant accounts.

The company announced the move in May as part of an effort to protect users from security threats. Google says forgotten accounts often rely on old or reused passwords that could have been compromised. These accounts are 10 times less likely to have 2-step verification set up, increasing the likelihood of identity theft and spam.

If Gmail users have an old account that they want to preserve – all they need to do is sign in once every two years. Google says any of the following actions will also prevent an account from getting deleted once you’re signed in: read/send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, download an app on the Google Play store or use Google Search.

Google says the policy only applies to personal accounts, not to organizations like schools or businesses. Accounts with YouTube videos are also exempt.

The first accounts to be deleted will be those that were created and never used again. Users who are affected should have received multiple notifications to the account email and recovery email address.

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(NEW YORK) — Elon Musk apologized for a recent antisemitic post on X while speaking at a conference on Wednesday night, but added a crude denunciation of advertisers that have since withdrawn from the platform.

The advertising exodus this month amounts to “blackmail,” Musk said, warning that the loss of ad revenue would ultimately result in the closure of X, formerly known as Twitter.

Musk used an expletive while addressing companies that removed advertisements from the social media platform.

“I don’t want them to advertise,” Musk said at The New York Times DealBook Summit in New York. “If someone is going to blackmail me with advertising money, go f— yourself.”

“What the advertising boycott is going to do is it’s going to kill the company,” Musk added. “The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail. Let’s see how Earth responds.”

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The recent wave of advertising exits from X included Comcast, IBM, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

“Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience, that’s how I feel,” Musk said, addressing Disney CEO Bob Iger, who spoke at the conference earlier in the day.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who most recently served as the ad sales chief at NBCUniversal, sat in the audience during Musk’s remarks.

Prior to his criticism of advertisers, Musk expressed remorse for a post on X earlier this month that was widely condemned as antisemitic.

“I’m sorry for that post,” Musk said. “It was foolish of me. Of the 30,000 it might be literally the worst and dumbest post I’ve ever done. And I’ve tried my best to clarify six ways from Sunday, but you know at least I think it’ll be obvious that in fact I’m far from being antisemitic.”

Since Musk acquired the company last year, advertising revenue has fallen about 50%, Musk said in a post on X in July.

Before the acquisition, advertising sales made up the vast majority of the company’s income, earnings reports showed.

 

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(NEW YORK) — Thousands of employees at 13 non-union automakers — including Tesla, Toyota, BMW and Nissan — have moved to join the United Auto Workers, according to the union.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Since Tesla unveiled a prototype of its Cybertruck four years ago, the electric pickup truck has remained in the realm of preorders and earnings-call updates — until this week.

On Thursday, the company will make its first deliveries of the Cybertruck at a high-profile event sure to be closely watched by consumers and Wall Street investors alike.

Encased in stainless steel, the Cybertruck boasts a payload and tow capacity that rival some other pickup trucks on the market.

But the ramp-up to full production will likely stretch into 2025, well-behind an initial rollout goal, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on an earnings call last month.

Here’s what to know about the Tesla Cybertruck, the delivery event on Thursday and when the car will be made widely available for purchase:

What do we know so far about the Cybertruck?

The Cybertruck made headlines for a miscue at a prototype-reveal event in 2019, when Musk touted its “armored” glass but a window unexpectedly shattered seconds later during a demo.

The signature feature of the Cybertruck, meanwhile, may be its stainless steel frame. The steel resists dents, allows customers to forego a paint job and is “literally bulletproof,” according to Musk.

The Cybertruck has a 3,500-pound payload capacity and 100 cubic feet of storage space, Musk said. The vehicle has room to seat six adults, the company says.

A 17-inch touchscreen rests atop the center of the dashboard, alongside an otherwise spare interior. Drivers can raise or lower the suspension 4 inches, Tesla says.

Tesla will offer three versions of the vehicle, ranging in price from $39,000 to $69,000, according to the release event in 2019. The lowest-cost option will offer a 250-mile range while the most expensive option will provide a 500-mile range, Musk said.

Those prices no longer appear on the Tesla website, however, leaving open the possibility of changes before the Cybertruck is made widely available.

More than one million people have pre-ordered the Cybertruck, Musk said last month.

What will happen at the Cybertruck delivery event?

On Thursday, Tesla will announce the delivery of an initial batch of Cybertrucks at an event in Austin, Texas, the company says.

The event, hosted at a manufacturing plant, will take place at 3 p.m. ET, the company said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Tesla says it plans to live-stream the event but the company has not announced where the video can be viewed.

The company plans to ​​to deliver just 10 Cybertrucks at the event, according to remarks made by Tesla global director of product design Javier Verdura earlier this month, Mexican outlet Milenio reported.

When will the Cybertruck be widely available for purchase?

Tesla faces “enormous challenges” scaling up production of the Cybertruck, Musk told investors on an earnings call last month. On a previous earnings call, Musk said the company “dug our own grave” with the decision to develop the Cybertruck.

Last month, Musk cited innovative features of the Cybertruck as a key reason for the delay.

“Prototypes are easy,” Musk said. “Production is hard.”

“You will have problems proportionate to how many new things you’re trying to solve at scale,” Musk added.

Ultimately, Tesla will produce 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, Musk said, noting that the company likely won’t reach that output rate until 2025.

“You have to invent not just the car but the way to make the car,” he added. “So, the more uncharted the territory, the less predictable the outcome.”

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