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Non-profit organizations
Barbara Salisbury, CEO of MAB Community Services, is retiring after 17 years leading the nonprofit that serves people with blindness and other disabilities, the organization announced Wednesday. During her tenure, Salisbury increased MAB Community Services' annual revenue from $10 million to $50 million, said the nonprofit, formerly known as the Massachusetts Association for the Blind. Salisbury will remain with the organization until the board selects a successor in the coming months. MAB Community Services serves more than 1,500 people throughout Massachusetts with visual impairments, brain injuries, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Under Salisbury's leadership, MAB Community Services introduced the Maxo Joseph Awards, which recognize staff for their work with participants and aim to improve nursing staff retention with the nonprofit. Last year, fewer than 17 percent of MAB Community Services supervisors left their jobs, compared to 40 to 60 percent across the industry, the release said. –ESHA WAILA
BUSINESS
Report says immigrants benefit the state
Immigrants who settle and find work in Massachusetts bring “a direct economic benefit to the region in which they work, both in terms of the value of the work performed and in terms of additional purchasing power locally,” it says Massachusetts continues to grapple with a surge of immigrants that is straining the state's shelter safety net, according to a new report. As the number of people seeking asylum or other protection in the United States has risen sharply in recent years, states like Massachusetts are facing significant additional costs associated with providing shelter and other services for some of the new arrivals. In a report released Wednesday morning, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and the Immigration Research Initiative found that immigrants arriving in Massachusetts can expect an average wage of about $24,000 per year. The report says that means immigrants coming to Massachusetts “will of course struggle to make ends meet, but will likely be at least slightly above the federal poverty level as of 2021,” which is $12,880 for individuals and $26,500 for families is four. After five years in Massachusetts, the average wage of an immigrant “will likely increase to about $34,000 per year,” the report said, as they earn higher wages and a larger share obtain full-time jobs. And when immigrants settle and work here, they contribute to state and local tax revenues. The MassBudget and IRI report said state and local tax revenues are expected to increase by $2 million per 1,000 newly arrived migrant workers, rising to $2.8 million per year after about five years. — STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
RIDE HAILING
Uber reports its first annual profit since going public
Uber posted its first full-year profit since going public in 2019 and its stock hit an all-time high on Wednesday as strong bookings in the final quarter of the year pushed profit and revenue above Wall Street expectations. Like last year as a private company, the last time Uber made a profit, the company received huge tailwinds from investments that helped boost profits, $1 billion in 2023. The difference is that Uber started has to earn money with the operational business. Uber and other ride-sharing companies have struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, whose shares were recently added to the S&P 500 index, saw its ride-hailing business take a hit as government lockdowns kept millions of people at home. But Uber focused on cutting costs and building a then-fledgling food delivery division during the pandemic that has since become a major revenue driver. Meanwhile, Uber's ride-hailing business has been gradually recovering, and fourth-quarter numbers suggest both are headed in the right direction. – RELATED PRESS
AUTOMOBILE
Tesla employees worried about layoffs after managers asked to defend their positions
Tesla employees are bracing for possible job cuts after managers were asked to confirm whether their employees' positions are critical. U.S. managers have had to make a binary assessment of their deputies' roles in recent days, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. Some people said Tesla sent out the one-line query for every job after canceling some employees' semi-annual performance reviews. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
RETAIL TRADE
Target wants to create a membership program
Target is considering a new paid membership program similar to Amazon Prime or Walmart+, looking for ways to spur growth and compete with larger rivals, according to people familiar with the matter. The new program, internally titled “Project Trident,” could launch as early as this year, these people said, declining to be named discussing private information. Target already offers a free loyalty program called Target Circle, which offers users offers and rewards for their purchases. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
MEDIA
NYT added 300,000 digital subscribers in the fourth quarter
The New York Times Co. added 300,000 paid digital subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023, the company said Wednesday, helping push annual digital subscription revenue above $1 billion for the first time. The Times reported total revenue of $676.2 million in the final three months of the year, virtually unchanged from a year ago. Adjusted operating profit rose 8.5 percent to $154 million. The company has focused in recent years on offering subscribers a bundle of products: its core news report, as well as games like Wordle and Spelling Bee; his product review site Wirecutter; a recipe app; and The Athletic, his sports news website. The Athletic, which the Times bought two years ago for $550 million, continued to make losses in the fourth quarter. However, operating loss fell to $4.4 million from $9.6 million a year ago. The Athletic's revenue rose 31.3 percent to $38.5 million. At year's end, the Times had 10.36 million subscribers, 9.7 million of which were digital-only. The company has a stated goal of reaching 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027. – NEW YORK TIMES
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