Tag: percent

Report: Uber accused of taking 50 percent of its drivers’ tips

Filed under: Government/Legal, Technology

Uber drivers file suit against the start-up transport company, claiming it steals half of its drivers tips.

Up-and-coming transportation service Uber finds itself in a sticky situation with a lawsuit filed against it by two San Francisco Uber drivers that claim the company takes 50 percent of their tips, The Verge reports. The practice of taking a share of employees’ gratuities is illegal in California, so Uber’s handling of tips could be violating California labor laws if it is established that drivers are actual employees. But Uber views drivers as contractors, and if that’s the case the tip-taking practice isn’t illegal.

This isn’t the first such lawsuit, either. Earlier this year drivers in Chicago and Massachusetts reportedly filed similar complaints against Uber.

Uber makes a mobile application with which drivers-for-hire can connect with passengers and schedule rides. Google recently invested $250 million in the company, part of an investment round totaling $360 million. Following the investment, Uber was valued at $3.5 billon.

In a statement provided to The Verge, Uber says it “values its partners above all else,” and calls lawsuits like this latest one frivolous. We’re not sure how the case is going to play out, but complaints about business operations don’t look good in the face of massive investments from major tech companies.

Uber accused of taking 50 percent of its drivers’ tips originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Akerson looking for 20 percent more range from next-gen Chevy Volt [w/video]

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Technology, Videos, Chevrolet

Dan Akerson wants to see 20 percent improvement in electric-drive range.

The Chevrolet Volt’s 38-mile electric range leaves something to be desired, despite being able to run nonstop for hundreds more miles when the range-extending gasoline generator kicks in. General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has recognized this and let slip that he wants to see the next-generation Volt get a significant electric-range increase, Bloomberg reports in a recorded interview with Akerson. The CEO says significant to him means 20 percent – “50 to 60 miles, or more,” he adds – and remarks that the range improvement could be a reality in three or four years. It’s a much bigger deal than the mid-cycle increase that the 2013 Volt got: three electric miles thanks to a half-kWH battery capacity increase.

In a less explicit statement about the next-gen Volt’s electric range, but still in context of the expected 20 percent increase, Akerson also tells Bloomberg that he hopes to see breakthroughs in battery technology that could further reduce cost and increase performance over the next couple of years. Already, the Volt’s 16.5-kilowatt-hour battery’s initial $800 per kWh price has dropped significantly due to volume and improvements in battery technology, according to Akerson. That’s without mentioning the current cost to produce a battery, of course.

Last spring Akerson said that GM hopes to trim $10,000 from the Volt’s price, currently at $39,145, through cost reductions. The goal is halfway met with the recent announcement of a $5,000 price drop for the 2014 Volt, which Akerson confirms in the interview was possible through “some cost savings by virtue of the evolution of the [battery] technology.” Feel free to watch listen to the video below for more details.

Continue reading Akerson looking for 20 percent more range from next-gen Chevy Volt [w/video]

Akerson looking for 20 percent more range from next-gen Chevy Volt [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Aug 2013 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Fiat to up stake in Chrysler to 30 percent

Filed under: Chrysler, Earnings/Financials, Fiat

Fiat badged Dodge Journey

Fiat currently owns 25 percent of Chrysler, but that stake will reportedly jump to 30 percent in the next couple weeks. Automotive News reports that the Italian automaker is weeks away from satisfying additional requirements needed to bump the ownership stake by another five percent.

Unnamed sources claim that Fiat has already met a requirement that states that Chrysler receives $1.5 billion of its revenue outside of North America. The next step is to offer Chrysler vehicles to 90 percent of Fiat’s Latin American dealers. Fiat will reportedly meet that goal by rebadging Chrysler vehicles as Fiats at Latin American dealerships. One vehicle that will reportedly receive the rebadge treatment is the Dodge Journey, which will be built in Mexico and renamed the Fiat Freemont. Fiat currently holds the largest share of the emerging Brazil market, with a substantial 22.3 percent share.

Fiat will receive another five percent of Chrysler by building a Fiat-based product in the U.S. that hits 40 miles per gallon or better. If Fiat wants to increase its share to an absolute majority of 51 percent, the automaker will need to fork over $1.14 billion by the end of the year. If the automaker waits until 2012, that number will jump to $1.37 billion.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Fiat to up stake in Chrysler to 30 percent originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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