{"id":82014,"date":"2024-02-03T01:15:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T09:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=82014"},"modified":"2024-02-07T14:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T22:19:55","slug":"black-coffee-3-feb-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id82014-black-coffee-3-feb-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Labor Pains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

I’ve got another busy weekend ahead of me, so let’s get right to this week’s commentary …<\/p>\n

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Theodore Roosevelt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Five months after unionized UPS workers ratified a massive five-year labor deal that included massive pay bumps that gave many drivers six-figure salaries – and total compensation for senior drivers upwards of $170,000 annually – the logistics company announced this week that 12,000 management jobs are going to be eliminated<\/a>. The reason: Sliding package demand and soaring union labor costs. Huh. Nobody could see that coming. As if management didn\u2019t already have enough<\/strong><\/em> problems …<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of cutbacks, Ford is cutting production<\/a> of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup after weaker-than-expected electric vehicle sales growth. More to the point, dealers are reporting slower sales and rising inventories on the electric truck, which starts at just under $50,000. And if you think that’s<\/strong><\/em> expensive, consider this:<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Maybe truck owners caught wind of the latest MotorTrend<\/em> test that found the Ford Lightning\u2019s towing range to be \u201cdismal.\u201d How dismal is the EV truck? Well \u2026 MotorTrend<\/em>\u2019s testing revealed that “an F-150 Lightning Platinum saddled with a camper that nearly maxed out its 8500-pound towing capacity couldn’t even cover 100 miles<\/a>.\u201d Heh. So \u2026 who was it again that thought transitioning from cars that run on petrol to EVs was a good idea? Oh, that\u2019s right \u2026 the folks who continually worry about this<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n