11/10/17: ESPN layoffs, Panera acquires Au Bon Pain & your email addiction
THE MINUTES
- ESPN announces more than 100 layoffs
- Panera acquires Au Bon Pain for an undisclosed sum
- The Senate announces their tax bill
- A self-driving shuttle gets into an accident in its first hour on the job
- Senators grill former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer
- News Corp. tops revenue estimates
Don’t have 3 minutes and 47 seconds to read this? Click here to listen to The Water Coolest.
THE HEADLINES
ESPN has another round of cuts
The worldwide leader in layoffs
The worldwide leader in sports will be laying off over 100 staffers after Thanksgiving this year. Happy holidays, I guess. This comes after they fired over 100 people back in April.
As people continue to cut cords and turn to streaming services and add-on apps, sports television has been taking a beating. NFL ratings are down this year, social media platforms are making deals to stream games live and the appetite for ESPN’s 24/7 sports coverage just isn’t what it used to be.
And some of Disney’s business decisions haven’t exactly been helping ESPN’s case. The company just spent $2.58B to purchase a large stake in a company called BAMTech which powers streaming services for MLB, HBO, NHL and WWE. Ipso facto, there’s no money left for holiday bonuses … or employees.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “If I ever get fired I want to make just enough of a scene that they need security to escort me out, but not enough to get arrested.”
Panera to acquire Au Bon Pain
Reunited and it feels so good
Corporate American carb aficionados rejoice, Panera Bread and Au Bon Pain are joining forces … again. Fun fact: the two were part of the same company in the 1990s, until Au Bon Pain was sold in 1999. In fact, current Panera CEO Ron Shaich founded Au Bon Pain.
Panera’s had a whirlwind year which culminated with this acquisition and the announcement that Ron Shaich will be stepping down as CEO in January. In July, the home of the premiere fast food broccoli cheddar soup was bought and taken private by private equity firm JAB holdings for more than $7B. Bullish on obesity, JAB’s investment portfolio includes Krispy Kreme.
With 2k locations currently, Panera’s acquisition of Au Bon Pain will expand the fast-casual empire by more than 300 storefronts, mostly in high-traffic airports and shopping malls.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “Panera Bread just screams power lunch.”
Meet the Senate’s tax bill
Tax Reform: The Sequel
The Senate, America’s legislative adult in the room, has finally unveiled it’s own take on the House’s proposed tax shake-up. Corporations had mixed reactions to a compromise that would cut the effective tax rate to 20% … but not until 2019.
But let’s get personal, shall we?
One thing both the Senate and House agree on is doubling the standard deduction, which everyone can appreciate. The Senate does plan to keep all seven tax brackets instead of compressing to four, although it would slightly decrease the top marginal rate. Most notable for millennials is the fact that the Senate plan would keep deductions for medical expenses and student loan interest instead of dumping both under the House plan.
There is one place where the Senate is a bit more radical: state and local tax deductions. Don’t plan on writing off anything you paid to the other tax man. The House wants to cut the income and sales tax deductions, but leave a reduced property tax deduction. Which must mean several members of Congress own a lot of land somewhere.
Water Cooler Talking Point: “Can’t wait to read more about tax law … said no one ever.”
IN OTHER NEWS
- Senators grilled former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer and ex-Equifax execs regarding their massive data breaches. Mayer apologized for allowing 3B accounts to be hacked in a state-sponsored Russian attack while admitting that Yahoo still hasn’t been able to figure out how exactly the hack occurred. And that’s probably why they’re owned by Verizon now.
- In Las Vegas a self-driving shuttle got into an accident in its first hour on the job. For the record, it wasn’t at fault.
- News Corp. which publishes The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post beat earnings and revenue expectations. Who says print is dead?
- Today we get the Consumer Confidence Survey.
ACTION ITEMS
Today’s listen (and read)
What Life Is Like Inside WeWork’s Communal Housing Project
“Some critics describe it as a dorm for adults.” — Ellen Huet via Bloomberg
WeWork is one of the most valuable startups in the world. But it’s little known side-hustle, WeLive is trying to change the way we, for lack of a better word, live. The commune style living is the subject of a Bloomberg podcast and long-ish read. When a company this influential is trying to change the way We work and We live, it’s worth peeking under the hood.
Return-on-Investment (ROI): 92.4%
Today’s read
Big Employer is watching you: the rising trend of employee surveillance
“These technologies seem to rest on a structure of inherent distrust — the notion that workers are incapable of managing their own time. And that’s just… one sec — gotta check Facebook.” — via The Hustle
Cover your laptop camera, disable your phone and DON’T. TRUST. ANYBODY. Voyeuristic employers are the new normal. There are plenty of apps out there for the big boss man to watch your every move. Consider yourself warned. (Oh and BTW, The Hustle is one of the best newsletters on the internet, check it out.)
Return-on-Investment (ROI): 93.9%
Today’s must-read
Email Notifications
“Each time a new message arrives, we’re convinced that this could be the one — that time-pressing note that we always claim will appear.” — Kat Boogard via Muse (by way of Dan Ariely)
Despite what your mommy tells you, you matter a whole lot less than you think. If your name isn’t Elon Musk you shouldn’t be checking your email on Saturday at bottomless brunch. And numbers don’t lie: science tells us that only 7% of your emails needs to be seen within an hour. That means you could delete your entire inbox right now and still get a “met most expectations in your annual review.”*
*Please don’t try this
Return-on-Investment (ROI): 95.2%
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