Raphael Stevens

The Walt Disney Company will no longer use Slack for in-house company communication.
The company’s Slack server was hacked in July, leading to more than a terabyte of company data being leaked to the public.
Most of Disney’s business units will move away from Slack usage by the end Disney’s next fiscal quarter, according to a memo from Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston that was obtained by CNBC.

The Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse float passes by during the daily Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on May 31, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. 
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

The Walt Disney Company will no longer use Slack for in-house company communication months after a hack that involved more than a terabyte of company data being leaked to the public.
The company had already begun to transition to a new internal “streamlined enterprise-wide collaboration tools,” but officially notified employees and cast members Thursday that most of its business units would move away from Slack usage by the end Disney’s next fiscal quarter, according to a memo from Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston that was obtained by CNBC.

Disney told investors in August that the summer data hack, which included a range of financial information, computer codes and details about unreleased projects, was not expected to have a material impact on the company’s operations or financial performance.
Representatives from Disney and Salesforce, the owner of Slack, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
“Our security is rock-solid,” Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, said during an interview with Bloomberg at the company’s annual Dreamforce conference this week.
“Companies also have to take the right measure to prevent phishing attacks and to lockdown their employees’ social engineering,” he added. “So, we can do our part, but our customers also have to do their part.”
Benioff noted that Disney continues to use Salesforce products in other aspects of its business including its Disney store, Disney guides, sales and service operations and its call centers. More

Twenty civil rights organizations signed a letter calling for Fortune 1000 company CEOs and board members to defend diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Signers include the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, GLSEN, National Urban League, National Women’s Law Center, PFLAG, SAGE, UnidosUS and others.
The letter comes after companies including Ford, Tractor Supply and Harley-Davidson curbed their DEI efforts.

Members of the National Action Network protest outside the office of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman on January 04, 2024 in New York City. 
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Twenty civil rights organizations sent a letter Thursday to Fortune 1000 companies calling for them to recommit to diversity, equity and inclusion, after several major companies scaled back their efforts.
The call to action comes after businesses including Ford, Tractor Supply, and Brown-Forman announced plans to change or entirely end internal DEI initiatives.

“Abandoning DEI will have long-term consequences on business success,” the authors of the letter wrote. “Ultimately shirking fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers, and shareholders.”
“These shortsighted decisions make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans,” the letter adds.
A range of corporations have curbed their DEI efforts, which picked up in 2020 after a national reckoning over racial injustice sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. Legal experts saw the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling on affirmative action in higher education as a roadmap for targeting private corporations prioritizing employee, supplier and consumer diversity. While some right-wing activists have claimed credit for pressuring companies on social media into making the changes in recent weeks, several corporations have said changes have been in the works since March.
Rural retailer Tractor Supply started a trend specifically by severing ties with LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, also known as HRC, which is among the letter’s signatories.
Several companies, including Molson Coors, Harley-Davidson, Ford and Lowe’s all followed suit. They said they will no longer provide data to the nonprofit’s Corporate Equality Index, a traditionally respected barometer for which companies best meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

HRC President Kelley Robinson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Sept. 12 that there’s a strong business case for diversity in the workplace.
“Consumers are two times more likely to want to buy from brands that support the community,” said Robinson. “This is bottom line the best thing to do for businesses, and that’s why I think that we’re seeing so much energy from employees, from consumers and from shareholders starting to push back on these decisions.”
She emphasized that LGBTQ+ consumers have $1.4 trillion of buying power, as reported by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Robinson called moving away from DEI the “wrong decision for business.”
The HRC responded to the companies that rolled back DEI commitments by cutting their Corporate Equality Index scores by 25 points.
On a 100-point scale, that deduction brings Brown-Forman, Lowe’s, Ford and Molson Coors from a perfect score of 100 to 75. Tractor Supply & John Deere fall from 95 to 70. And Harley-Davidson’s Corporate Equality Index score drops from 45 to 20.
The companies mentioned in this article did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the letter to the Fortune 1000 companies, the civil rights groups argued pulling back from DEI not only hurts their standing with consumers, but also risks their ability to keep the most talented workforce possible.
“Businesses that fail to include women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people neglect their financial duty to recruit and retain top talent,” the letter read.
“We call on business leaders to speak out publicly, defending decades long, pro-business decisions to support inclusion.”
The full text of the letter and list of signatories is below.
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they’re broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees. But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs. 
Recently, some CEOs have caved and announced their company’s divestment from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.  
These capitulations weaken businesses and the American economy more broadly. And, these shortsighted decisions make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans. Meanwhile this exposes businesses to legal risk by increasing the likelihood of bias and discrimination within organizations.
Abandoning DEI will have long-term consequences on business success — ultimately shirking fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers, and shareholders.  Businesses that fail to include women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people neglect their financial duty to recruit and retain top talent from across the full talent pool and limit their company’s performance overall. 
A survey of 1,039 companies with at least $15 billion in annual revenue showed that companies at the top quartile for both gender and ethnic diversity are 12% more likely to outperform all other companies. There is also a penalty for lagging on diversity which has only gotten larger with time. Companies in the bottom quartile of executive diversity on gender and ethnicity underperform all other companies by 27%. (Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters, McKinsey & Company 2020 report) 
Critically, these decisions are not supported by your employees. According to an Edelman survey in 2024, 60% percent of people say an inclusive work culture with a well-supported diversity program is critical to attracting and retaining them as an employee — that’s up 9 points from 2022.  In addition, according to Pew, only 16 percent of employees think focusing on DEI “is a bad thing.”
Furthermore, divestment from DEI will alienate diverse consumer segments including women, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Women control an estimated two-thirds of global consumer spending and are projected to control two-thirds of all consumer wealth within the next decade, with estimates ranging from $12 trillion to $40 trillion. Today, Black consumers hold $1.7 trillion in purchasing power and the LGBTQ+ community wields $1.4 trillion in spending power.
Future-proofing businesses also means recognizing the increasing diversity of consumers and employees. One-in-four GenZers are Hispanic, 14% are Black, 6% are Asian, 5% are some other race or multiple races, and 30% are LGBTQ+ identified. Our nation’s disabled population continues to grow: recent CDC data showed the number of disabled adults in the United States grew,  from 61 million in 2018 to 70 million in 2024, or more than 1 in 4 Americans (28.7%). This immense financial influence by populations often served by DEI programs are seen across various sectors, from consumer goods to financial services, demonstrating that DEI is a critical driver of business.
Put simply, hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe, and inclusive work environments is bad for business,  unpopular and unwise.  As business leaders who helped to build DEI programs, you know it’s good business, and we have the receipts that show it.  
At this moment, we call on business leaders and corporate board members to lead.  
When values of diversity, equity and inclusion are tested by politically motivated, anti-business forces, CEOs and corporate board members must defend them unequivocally. To be clear, women workers, people of color and disabled workers aren’t making political statements when they show up to work and ask for equal policies, benefits and treatment. By abandoning best practice programs to support these workers, you not only capitulate to political forces and disregard what’s good for your bottom line, but you introduce risks of discrimination and bias to your employees and your company.
We welcome your partnership and understand the safety risks posed by bad actors are serious — these are threats that impact us all. Backing down from long-standing commitments only serves to empower those who threaten your workers and customers. We call on business leaders to speak out publicly, defending decades long, pro-business decisions to support inclusion. Your trusted voices together will future proof the business community against anti-business, politically motivated extremists.

Advocates for Trans Equality
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
Asians Fighting Injustice
Color Of Change
Family Equality
GLAAD
GLSEN
Human Rights Campaign
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
NAACP
National Action Network
National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
National Women’s Law Center
PFLAG National
SAGE
UnidosUS More

A year after unprecedented strikes by the UAW, the union is once again threatening work stoppages that could disrupt the U.S. automotive industry.
The UAW has announced a strike deadline at a Ford tool and die plant that supports F-150 production as well as strike authorization voting at Stellantis.
Both announcements amount to warning shots against Ford and Stellantis. The union has not announced similar actions against General Motors.

UAW president Shawn Fain and members and workers at the Mopar Parts Center Line, a Stellantis Parts Distribution Center in Center Line, Michigan, picket outside the facility after walking off their jobs at noon on September 22, 2023.
Matthew Hatcher | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT – A year after unprecedented strikes by the United Auto Workers against the Detroit automakers, the union is once again threatening work stoppages that could disrupt the U.S. automotive industry.
The UAW on Wednesday announced a strike deadline at a Ford Motor tool and die plant that supports the automaker’s Rouge Complex near Detroit – one of two U.S. plants that produce the company’s highly profitable F-150 pickup truck.

The 11:59 p.m. Sept. 25 strike deadline came a day after UAW President Shawn Fain announced plans to hold strike authorization votes at one or more local unions covering Stellantis plants in the U.S.
Both announcements amount to warning shots against Ford and Stellantis and center on union contracts and local issues at the facilities. The union has not announced similar actions against General Motors.
UAW members are covered by national agreements, which include issues such as wages, bonuses and other benefits, as well as local contracts that are tailored to each facility.
Local contracts have historically taken months, if not years, to settle after a national agreement is reached. Sometimes they are not settled at all during the terms of the national deal.
Last year’s auto worker strikes came during historic negotiations over national contracts with all three Detroit automakers at once. The union won record wage increases — 25% over the term of the deal — and reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, but labor experts said it could be at the expense of jobs.

The most recent strike deadline for Ford was called over local plant negotiations involving “job security, wage parity for Skilled Trades, as well as work rules,” according to the union.
A strike at a supporting facility for an assembly plant could impact vehicle assembly if the automaker cannot make contingency plans for the parts. The plant employs fewer than 500 workers.
Ford, in a statement Thursday, said negotiations with the union are ongoing: “Ford invested $15 million in the plant last year and we have been at the table problem-solving. Negotiations continue and we look forward to reaching an agreement with UAW Local 600 at Dearborn Tool & Die.”
The strike deadline takes tensions there a step further than at Stellantis, where the union has announced authorization voting. Strike authorization votes are procedural. They are votes by workers to authorize UAW leaders to call a strike, if warranted. Such votes for the national contract negotiations typically pass with more than 90% of worker approval.

The announced voting at Stellantis comes after months of mudslinging by Fain against Stellantis and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, following product cuts, layoffs and other actions that the union has deemed detrimental to union workers, including the potential to move production of vehicles such as the Dodge Durango out of the U.S.
The union on Monday filed unfair labor practice claims with the National Labor Relations Board against Stellantis, saying the automaker refused to “provide the Union with relevant information” regarding investments and products.
“The company wants you to be scared, but we are 100% within our rights and within our power to take strike action if necessary,” Fain said Tuesday night during an online broadcast.
Stellantis has contended such a strike would be illegal.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to media on June 13, 2024 following the company’s investor day at its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Fain has been adamant that the union won the right to strike over the automakers’ product and investment commitments during national bargaining. However, there remains language in the contracts regarding market conditions, economics and other factors that could grant the company leniency.  
Stellantis Tuesday night after Fain’s strike authorization vote announcement criticized the union leader for his actions and comments.
“Shawn Fain continues to allege that the company has violated the contract, but to date has provided no data or information to back up his claims. Instead, he continues to willfully damage the reputation of the company with his public attacks which is helpful to no one including his members,” Stellantis said in an emailed statement.
Stellantis said a strike “does not benefit anyone – our customers, our dealers, the community and, most importantly, our employees.”
In addition to Monday’s NLRB complaint against the company, Fain said 28 Stellantis locals have filed grievances against the automaker. Those complaints cover about 98% of Stellantis’ UAW-represented workforce, according to the union.
“Once we’ve authorized a strike at a local, we meet with the company seven times and either resolve the issue or take strike action as our union sees fit,” Fain said.
As of the beginning of this year, Stellantis employed roughly 43,000 workers represented by the union.
The union this week also began contract negotiations with Volkswagen. VW workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, overwhelmingly voted in favor of UAW representation earlier this year.

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Home sales were 4.2% lower in August than in the same month in 2023.
There were 1.35 million units for sale at the end of August. That’s up 0.7% from July and up 22.7% year over year.
The median price of an existing home sold in August was $416,700, up 3.1% from August 2023.

Sales of previously owned homes fell 2.5% in August from July, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.86 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.
That is slightly lower than what analysts expected. Sales were 4.2% lower than August 2023. It marks three straight months of sales below the 4 million mark, annualized.

This count is based on closings — contracts that were likely signed in late June and July, when mortgage rates started coming down but were not as low as they are today. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed loan was slightly over 7% in mid-June and then fell steadily to 6.7% by the end of July, according to Mortgage News Daily.
“Home sales were disappointing again in August, but the recent development of lower mortgage rates coupled with increasing inventory is a powerful combination that will provide the environment for sales to move higher in future months,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The home-buying process, from the initial search to getting the house keys, typically takes several months.”

A ‘For Sale’ sign advertises a home for sale on April 20, 2023, in Cutler Bay, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

The inventory of homes for sale is improving slightly. There were 1.35 million units for sale at the end of August. That’s up 0.7% from July and 22.7% year over year. It is still, however, just a 4.2-month supply. A 6-month supply is considered balanced between buyer and seller.
“The rise in inventory — and, more technically, the accompanying months’ supply — implies home buyers are in a much-improved position to find the right home and at more favorable prices,” Yun added. “However, in areas where supply remains limited, like many markets in the Northeast, sellers still appear to hold the upper hand.”
Tight supply is keeping the pressure on prices. The median price of an existing home sold in August was $416,700, up 3.1% from the same month in 2023. That is the highest price ever for August.

Since it’s a median, though, part of that gain is skewed toward what was selling in August. Sales were up significantly for homes priced above $750,000, but down for anything priced below $500,000.
First-time buyers made up just 26% of August sales, matching the all-time low from November 2021. All-cash sales came in at 26%, which is down slightly from a year ago but still high historically.
Mortgage rates continued to fall in August and September, with the 30-year fixed now sitting at 6.15%, the lowest in roughly two years. More

Darden Restaurants’ earnings and revenue missed Wall Street’s estimates in its fiscal first quarter.
CEO Rick Cardenas said the company fell short of its own expectations for the quarter.
The Olive Garden parent bought Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s in July.

A sign hangs on the front of an Olive Garden restaurant on June 22, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olsen | Getty Images

Darden Restaurants on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue as sales weakened at Olive Garden and its fine dining restaurants.
“While we fell short of our expectations for the first quarter, I firmly believe in the strength of our business,” CEO Rick Cardenas said in a statement. “I am confident in the actions all our brand teams are taking to address their guests’ needs, which do not compromise the long-term health of our business for short-term benefits.”

Shares of the company rose about 10% in premarket trading despite the results. Excluding Thursday’s gains, the stock has fallen 3% this year as investor concerns about the health of the consumer weigh on the restaurant industry at large.
Here’s what the company reported for the quarter ended Aug. 25 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $1.75 adjusted vs. $1.83 expected
Revenue: $2.76 billion vs. $2.8 billion expected

Darden reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $207.2 million, or $1.74 per share, up from $194.5 million, or $1.59 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding costs related to its purchase of Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s, the restaurant company earned $1.75 per share.
Net sales rose 1% to $2.76 billion, but the company’s same-store sales declined 1.1% in the quarter. Traffic to its restaurants fell sharply in July but then improved, according to CFO Raj Vennam. Executives at other restaurant companies have also said that traffic struggled this summer, chalking it up to increased travel or diners growing even more cautious.

Olive Garden’s same-store sales shrank 2.9% in the quarter. The chain is reviving its Never Ending Pasta Bowl later this month in the hopes of bringing back customers.
Darden’s fine dining segment, which includes Eddie V’s and The Capital Grille, reported same-store sales declines of 6%.
LongHorn Steakhouse was the company’s only division to report same-store sales growth. The chain, a top performer in Darden’s portfolio since the pandemic, saw same-store sales growth of 3.7%.
Darden bought Chuy’s Holdings in July for roughly $605 million, its second acquisition in two years. The company expects the Chuy’s deal to close in its fiscal second quarter, which is also when Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s results will appear in its same-store sales numbers. Darden bought Ruth’s Chris a little over a year ago.
Despite the gloomy quarter, Darden reiterated its full-year outlook. For fiscal 2025, the company is forecasting earnings per share from continuing operations of $9.40 to $9.60 and net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion.

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JetBlue plans to open its first airport lounges in its more than two decades of flying.
The first clubs will be at JetBlue’s hubs in New York starting late next year, followed by Boston.
JetBlue is also launching a “premium” credit card.

JetBlue planes at JFK’s Terminal 5 in New York.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC

JetBlue Airways will open its first airport lounges in its more than two decades of flying, a major shift for the low-cost airline as it chases high-spending travelers.
The lounges will open at the carrier’s hubs in New York late next year followed by Boston, JetBlue said Thursday.

The airline is also planning to launch a new “premium” credit card with its partner, Barclays, taking a page from the likes of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines, which have generated billions through lucrative credit card deals.
Customers who have the soon-to-be-announced premium credit card, those booked in JetBlue’s Mint business class for trans-Atlantic travel and high-level frequent flyer status holders will be able to access the lounges, the company said.
JetBlue said its 8,000-square-foot lounge in Terminal 5 of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is slated to open late next year, and an 11,000-sqare-foot space in Boston Logan International Airport’s Terminal C will open shortly after.

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JetBlue has been racing to scale back costs and return to steady profitability, including by deferring dozens of new Airbus jetliners. The airline has slashed dozens of routes this year and has been looking for ways to better deploy its aircraft that are equipped with its Mint cabin, which features lie-flat seats, higher-end dining and other perks.
Entry to the lounges will not include, at least immediately, travelers on other Mint routes such as transcontinental flights, Jayne O’Brien, JetBlue’s head of marketing and customer support, told CNBC.

She said JetBlue doesn’t want to disappoint customers if they aren’t able to get into the lounges because they are too crowded. “We want to be very thoughtful about how we step into this,” she said, adding that the lounges will feature cocktail and espresso bars, “light bites,” as well as room to work.
The highest-tier of JetBlue’s loyalty program and holders of the new premium card will get free access to the lounge for one guest.

O’Brien declined to comment on rumors that JetBlue is planning to offer a mini Mint cabin on some aircraft, a smaller format of its popular cabin.
Other airlines have been revamping their airport lounges in hopes of reeling in more big spenders and accommodate crowds. Delta, which scaled back access to some of its popular airport Sky Clubs after complaints of long lines, in June unveiled its first Delta One lounge at New York’s JFK Airport, which is dedicated for customers in its highest-level cabin and certain invite-only elite members of its SkyMiles program.
American and United also have dedicated lounges for travelers in top first- and business-class cabins.
Credit card companies such as American Express, Chase and Capital One have also opened airport lounges in cities across the country in an effort to draw consumers.
JetBlue is not the only airline looking at expanding perks that come with higher fares.
Southwest Airlines plans to offer seats with extra legroom to increase revenue, the biggest change in its more than five decades of flying. Southwest will provide more details about its strategy at an investor day next week. Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines have also launched bundles that include seats with more space and earlier boarding.

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