Latest news with #AlexandraAlper
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
US may target Samsung, Hynix, TSMC operations in China
By Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper The U.S. Department of Commerce is considering revoking authorizations granted in recent years to global chipmakers Samsung , SK Hynix and TSMC , making it more difficult for them to receive U.S. goods and technology at their plants in China, according to people familiar with the matter. The chances of the United States withdrawing the authorizations are unclear. But with such a move, it would be harder for foreign chipmakers to operate in China, where they produce semiconductors used in a wide range of industries. A White House official said the United States was "just laying the groundwork" in case the truce reached between the two countries fell apart. But the official expressed confidence that the trade agreement would go forward and that rare earths would flow from China, as agreed. "There is currently no intention of deploying this tactic," the official said. "It's another tool we want in our toolbox in case either this agreement falls through or any other catalyst throws a wrench in bilateral relations." Shares of U.S. chip equipment makers that supply plants in China fell when the Wall Street Journal first reported the news earlier on Friday. KLA Corp dropped 2.4%, Lam Research fell 1.9% and Applied Materials sank 2%. Shares of Micron , a major competitor to Samsung and SK Hynix in the memory chip sector, rose 1.5%. A TSMC spokesman declined comment. Samsung and Hynix did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials did not immediately respond, either. In October 2022, after the United States placed sweeping restrictions on U.S. chipmaking equipment to China, it gave foreign manufacturers like Samsung and Hynix letters authorizing them to receive goods. In 2023 and 2024, the companies received what is known as Validated End User status in order to continue the trade. A company with VEU status is able to receive designated goods from a U.S. company without the supplier obtaining multiple export licenses to ship to them. VEU status enables entities to receive U.S.-controlled products and technologies "more easily, quickly and reliably," as the Commerce Department website puts it. The VEU authorizations come with conditions, a person familiar with the matter said, including prohibitions on certain equipment and reporting requirements. "Chipmakers will still be able to operate in China," a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement when asked about the possible revocations. "The new enforcement mechanisms on chips mirror licensing requirements that apply to other semiconductor companies that export to China and ensure the United States has an equal and reciprocal process." Industry sources said that if it became more difficult for U.S. semiconductor equipment companies to ship to foreign multinationals, it would only help domestic Chinese competitors. "It's a gift," one said.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nippon Steel, US seek 8-day pause in litigation to resolve deal concerns
By Mike Scarcella and Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nippon Steel and the Trump administration on Thursday asked a U.S. appeals court to extend a pause in their litigation for eight days, to give them more time to reach a deal allowing the Japanese firm to move forward with its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel. The court is likely to approve an extension of the pause, first granted on April 7 when President Donald Trump ordered a second national security review of the proposed tie-up. That pause was set to expire on June 5. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nippon Steel, US seek 8-day pause in litigation to resolve deal concerns
By Mike Scarcella and Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nippon Steel and the Trump administration on Thursday asked a U.S. appeals court to extend a pause in their litigation for eight days, to give them more time to reach a deal allowing the Japanese firm to move forward with its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel. The court is likely to approve an extension of the pause, first granted on April 7 when President Donald Trump ordered a second national security review of the proposed tie-up. That pause was set to expire on June 5. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-DOGE-led software revamp to speed US job cuts even as Musk steps back
By Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The federal human resources agency at the heart of billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to slash the federal workforce is poised to roll out software to speed layoffs across the U.S. government, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The software could turbo-charge the rapid-fire effort to downsize the government at a time when a number of larger federal agencies are preparing to execute plans for mass layoffs of tens of thousands of workers. Some 260,000 government workers already have accepted buyouts, early retirement or been laid off since Republican President Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January, according to a Reuters tally. The process has been far from smooth. Some workers were mistakenly fired and had to be rehired. The software is an updated version of a decades-old Pentagon program, known as AutoRIF, that had been little used in recent years. Under direction from Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), software developers at the U.S. Office Of Personnel Management (OPM) have created a more user-friendly web-based version over the past few months that provides targets for layoffs much more quickly than the current labor-intensive manual process, four sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The program is poised to be rolled out to the agencies by OPM just as Musk steps back from DOGE, which has driven the downsizing effort, to focus more on Tesla and his other companies. AutoRIF's name comes from "Reduction in Force," a term used to describe mass layoffs. The revamped version has been given the more benign-sounding name "Workforce Reshaping Tool," three sources said. With the software revamp now complete, OPM will lead demonstrations, user testing and start adding new users in the coming weeks, one of the sources said. DOGE, OPM, the White House, Pentagon and Musk did not respond to requests for comment. Wired magazine was first to report on the revamp effort. But Reuters is reporting for the first time on the completion of that revamp, the capabilities of the new program, rollout plans and its new name. JOB-CUTTING SCYTHE Trump established DOGE to modernize government software, cut spending and drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce, which he complains is bloated and wasteful. DOGE has said it has saved more than $160 billion through cuts to federal contracts and staff, but it has given few details publicly about what it is doing to modernize technology to make the government more efficient. The update of the Pentagon software, which DOGE has not publicly confirmed, is the only known example of that effort bearing fruit. Currently, most federal RIFs are done manually - with HR employees poring over spreadsheets containing data on employee seniority, veteran status and performance, three sources told Reuters. The new software is being rolled out just as larger agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs are set to move forward with plans to eliminate some 80,000 jobs. The Internal Revenue Service has said it wants to slash its payrolls by 40%, according to media reports. The tool will allow agencies "to remove a massive number of federal employees from their positions," if it works, said Nick Bednar, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota who has been tracking the government layoffs. "What DOGE has started is going to continue without Elon Musk," Bednar said. AutoRIF was developed by the Pentagon more than a quarter century ago. It pulled data from its HR system, sifted through firing rules quickly and produced names of employees eligible to be laid off. But it was difficult to migrate it to other agencies, whose workers had to manually input data on potential candidates for dismissal, a cumbersome process that is subject to errors. The program, described as "clunky" by a 2020 Pentagon HR newsletter, also would allow only one employee to work on a RIF, two sources said. The upgrade makes it web-based, easing employee access to the tool while enabling multiple people to work on a mass layoff, three sources said. It also allows for the upload of employee data for analysis, freeing HR workers from having to manually input personal records of possible targets for dismissal. While speed is a clear advantage, the software could pose other challenges, according to Don Moynihan, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. "If you automate bad assumptions into a process, then the scale of the error becomes far greater than an individual could undertake," Moynihan said. "It won't necessarily help them to make better decisions and it won't make those decisions more popular," Moynihan added. Trump's drive to downsize and reshape the government already has led to the gutting of entire agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which seeks to protect Americans from financial abuses. The government overhaul has led to numerous lawsuits that seek to block the Trump administration from moving forward with some of the planned dismissals.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-US panel divided over Nippon Steel bid for US Steel but path forward seen, says official
By Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A national security panel was divided in its recommendation to President Donald Trump on Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel but most panel members believe any security risks posed by the deal can be addressed, a White House official said. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. on Wednesday submitted a recommendation to Trump about the national security implications of the merger, Reuters reported, as directed by Trump in an executive order signed last month. But key details had not emerged until now about the contents of the document, submitted after Japan's Nippon Steel supercharged its pledged investment in U.S. Steel to $14 billion in a last-ditch bid for approval, as reported by Reuters. "We've received the report and the President will review the recommendations of each agency to determine if additional action on this matter is necessary," the White House official said in a statement. "CFIUS agencies were not unanimous in their recommendation, but the majority believe any risks can likely be addressed through mitigation," the person added, declining to be named because the matter was not public. Nippon Steel declined to comment. U.S. Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The recommendation complies with an executive order signed by Trump last month, which tasked CFIUS with outlining whether any measures proposed by the companies assuage the national security risks previously identified by the committee. The April directive also asked for a statement describing the position of each agency that is a member of CFIUS as well as the reasons behind it. Trump will now have 15 days to decide the fate of the transaction, although the timeline could slip. Following a previous CFIUS-led review, former President Joe Biden blocked the deal in January on national security grounds. The companies sued, arguing they did not receive a fair review process. The Biden White House rejected that view. Reuters reported this week that if the merger is approved, Nippon Steel has said it would invest $14 billion into U.S. Steel's operations including up to $4 billion in a new steel mill.
