Friday newspaper round-up: Amazon Alexa, Uber, Kraft Heinz, Rees-Mogg
Hundreds of schoolchildren have been drafted in to make Amazon’s Alexa devices in China as part of a controversial and often illegal attempt to meet production targets, documents seen by the Guardian reveal. Interviews with workers and leaked documents from Amazon’s supplierFoxconn show that many of the children have been required to work nights and overtime to produce the smart-speaker devices, in breach of Chinese labour laws. – Guardian
Uber lost $5.24bn in the last three months, its largest-ever quarterly loss, news that sent the ride-hailing company’s shares sliding 10%. The company was reporting earnings for only the second time following its share sale in May. The latest losses were worse than analysts had expected and the company announced revenues that were also below predictions. Uber’s revenues rose 14% to $3.17bn in the second quarter, below analysts’ expectations of $3.3bn and the smallest percentage on record. – Guardian
Uncertainty about the date of leaving the European Union is more damaging than a no-deal Brexit, the new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party has said. Paul Scully, who was appointed deputy chairman by Boris Johnson, also said that it was unlikely that Boris Johnson will call a general election before the UK is expected to leave the European Union on Oct 31. – Telegraph
Kraft Heinz’s new chief executive yesterday admitted he had “significant work ahead” after unveiling a $1.2 billion writedown of the food giant’s brands following sluggish sales, sending the shares tumbling to record lows. Miguel Patricio, 55, said: “The level of decline we experienced in the first half of this year is nothing we should find acceptable moving forward.” – The Times
The new cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg appears to be in line for a £1 million payday after the fund management group he co-founded reported healthy profits in spite of difficult market conditions. Somerset Capital Management, which specialises in emerging markets, booked distributable profits of £19.5 million for the year to March, down from £25.3 million last time. – The Times