Tausi Insider

Paper-based compostable capsules of Nespresso coffee, in Vevey, Switzerland, on Nov. 21. DENIS BALIBOUSE/Reuters Nestle’s Nespresso coffee business is launching paper-based compostable capsules to attract customers put off by the Swiss packaged food giant’s metal ones, which despite being recyclable often end up in landfill. Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff told Reuters that not all customers were aware that its aluminum capsules are recyclable, and may be more comfortable with the compressed paper pulp pods. “The objective is not to replace all the aluminum pods with paper, but to give the consumer more choice. It’s an alternative for sustainable options,” Le Cunff said in an interview. “You can compost the paper capsules or recycle the aluminum ones. We let the customer choose,” he added. Nespresso is one of Nestle’s biggest brands, with 2021 sales of 6.4 billion Swiss francs ($6.7-billion), and also one of its most profitable. After surging sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nesp...

A Stellantis company building in Velizy-Villacoublay, France, on Feb. 1. GONZALO FUENTES/Reuters The bankruptcy of Stellantis’ Jeep joint venture in China could spell trouble for other global automakers whose output has plunged over the last five years in the world’s largest car market, as domestic players rapidly overtake. The first joint venture failure by a foreign brand in the electric vehicle (EV) era, the Oct. 31 bankruptcy filing marks a turning point in that Chinese car makers are beginning to surpass the long-dominant international brands in giving consumers what they want. “I do not expect Stellantis to be an isolated case,” said Marco Santino, a partner at management consultants Oliver Wyman. “Probably almost all of the western car makers will have to review the industrial logic of their presence in China.” A spokesman for Stellantis STLA-N said Jeep would operate through an “asset light” strategy in China, importing vehicles via a distribution model that is profitable for...

This is the weekly Careers newsletter. Radhika Panjwani is a former journalist from Toronto and a blogger. This week’s newsletter looks ahead to trends in the workplace in 2023. Trend 1: Boomerang employees Self-retrospection combined with regret will spur many professionals who upped and quit during the pandemic to return to their old job, says Nancy D’Onofrio, a talent acquisition expert. Boomerang employees are those workers who leave an employer and return, explains Ms. D’Onofrio, who is the global director of business development at Visage Inc., a tech startup that combines human and artificial intelligence to create a list of potential candidates for roles. She says the ranks of boomerang workers may be set to swell in the new year. “The holidays are a time for self-reflection and many employees who have caught the I-want-to-return feelings, will most likely have those chats [with their former employers] early next year,” says Whitby, Ont.-based Ms. D’Onofrio. Considering the c...

Alt-weekly Toronto Now was recently acquired by Gonez Media. Fernando Morales/Tausi Insider Graham Isador is a writer and photographer based in Toronto. Last week I received an e-mail from a PR agency touting the future of Now magazine. The Toronto alt-weekly has been acquired by Gonez Media, fronted by television personality and YouTuber Brandon Gonez. The agency wanted to know if I was interested in covering Now’s sale and the future plans for the company. The PR agency said it asked me because it recognized my “passion and commitment to the brand.” What they were talking about was how I’d been complaining on Twitter. For months I’ve been lamenting Now’s slow demise on my social feeds. The fall of the magazine is part of a wider crisis that’s left me questioning the viability of how I make my living as a whole. For years, the journalism industry has been affected by the decline of advertising revenue, with alternative weeklies taking a particularly hard hit. The city has lost The ...