Maybe next year: Sen. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, scrapped his latest bid to raise Louisiana’s minimum wage to $9 on Tuesday, saying he doesn’t have the votes for passage. It marks the fourth year of defeat for an effort backed by Gov. John Bel Edwards to boost the base pay for an estimated 200,000 workers. Read the full story.
Ouch: Tuesday was terrible for U.S. department stores, The Wall Street Journal reports, as Kohls and J.C. Penney both reported earnings that disappointed investors, triggering a drop in their shares and a broader selloff in department store stocks. Their dim start to the year sets a negative tone for other retailers reporting this week, including Nordstrom and Target. Read the full story.
Deep cuts: Ford Motor will cut roughly 10% of its global salaried staff by August as part of a companywide “redesign,” the U.S. auto giant told employees Monday. The move will eliminate 7,000 white-collar jobs and save the company about $600 million a year, The Washington Post reports. The cuts represent the latest phase of Ford’s global restructuring, meant to make the company more agile and less bureaucratic in the face of industry tumult that has forced carmakers to pivot away from sedans and shutter plants nationwide. Read the full story.
