Wander Thoughts

Employees at a factory where labels are manufactured claim they have been informed that their facility will be shut down and operations will be relocated to Central Europe.

Approximately 180 personnel operate at the MCC factory located on the Llantarnam Industrial Estate within Cwmbran, Torfaen, where they manufacture labels for food and beverage products.

The website has been in operation for more than 20 years, but employees have been informed that the company intends to close down operations with tasks being relocated to Poland and Romania.

The corporate entity has been solicited for a statement.

The factory is part of a multinational corporation with facilities located across worldwide, encompassing the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.

In an email to employees, MCC president Fred Noel stated: "This was a challenging but required decision that reflects changes in local requirements."

We are currently collaborating closely with the local team and customers to evaluate available choices, and if necessary, reprioritize product distribution to other locations.

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It's a disaster for Nissan. The company's shares dropped on the Tokyo stock exchange following the announcement of the breakdown in merger talks with Honda. This collapse is attributed to Nissan's reported decision to withdraw from negotiations.

The talks came to an abrupt end. According to Japan's Nikkei, Nissan has stopped negotiations with Honda. This development immediately sparked a 4.86% drop in Nissan's stock price, prompting the Tokyo stock exchange to temporarily suspend trading. In contrast, Honda's stock gained 12% in value following the news. Sources point to a reported disagreement over Honda's plan to acquire Nissan's shares, making it a subsidiary, which Nissan allegedly opposed. The potential outcome of the failed merger could be disastrous for Nissan, which is facing financial difficulties. The original idea was to form a Japanese conglomerate along with Mitsubishi, then rival the Chinese and Tesla by quickly transitioning to electric vehicles. Neither company has publicly confirmed this information.

Meat Hungary with Olivier Duquesne – Source: L'Écho with AFP – Picture: Honda

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• BuuPass has formed a partnership with Stanbic Bank Kenya to award its customers with cashback for each vehicle trip they make.
• Cardholders with the bank will receive a cashback of KES 500 for every KES 5,000 spent on travel through BuuPass.
• BuuPass CEO and co-founder Sonia Kabra stated that the agreement will make travel more accessible, convenient, and secure for customers.

BuuPass and Stanbic Bank Kenya have partnered to improve the travel experience.

The top East Africa travel solutions platform announced a partnership that will provide exclusive cashback benefits for Stanbic Bank card holders.

This special promotion offers travellers a chance to save a substantial amount on their travel arrangements.

What is the amount of the BuuPass cash reward?

The company states that Stanbic Bank cardholders can obtain rebates in cash by planning their travel through either BuuPass's website or mobile application.

The rewards program provides KSh 500 cashback for bus travel expenses of KSh 5,000 and KSh 1,000 cashback for flight bookings that are KSh 10,000 or more.

Rewards are automatically added to customers' cards each and every week.

All transactions are processed through Paystack's secure payment system, providing a safe and uninterrupted experience for all customers.

BuuPass CEO and co-founder Sonia Kabba stated that the deal will make travel more accessible, convenient, and secure for customers

Our partnership with Stanbic Bank Kenya is designed to make travel more accessible, more rewarding, and more secure for our customers.

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The travel booking platform encouraged its customers to benefit from the cashback offer by visiting the BuuPass website or downloading the BuuPass mobile application.

Upon finishing a booking that meets the minimum spend criteria, customers who use a Stanbic Bank card to make the payment will automatically become eligible to receive the cashback reward.

Stanbic, Kenya's sixth largest bank, teams up with BuuPass, demonstrating BuuPass' dedication to revolutionizing Africa's transportation sector and improving customer satisfaction as a result.

What other travel rewards does BuuPass offer?

In January 2025, a top digital mobility platform serving East Africa unveiled a promotional campaign designed to share holiday spirit with its customers.

BuuPass said it will reward travelers and make their journeys more accessible by providing free mobile data.

The company's CEO, Kabra, announced that they will be giving data rewards to customers who make bookings through their platform.

Kabra stated that the free data allowance is indeed an expression of the company's gratitude towards its customers for their devotion to travel and their experiences.

The company offered 150 megabytes of free mobile data to new subscribers on their first booking, and also provided an extra 100 megabytes of free data for return trips.

The promotion was running throughout the holiday season and is available throughout BuuPass's entire network in Kenya and East Africa.

Toyota Announces Plan to Construct An Electric Vehicle Factory in Shanghai for Lexus Brand Amid Challenges Faced by Foreign Car Manufacturers in China.

The world's leading automaker made the statement as it revised its forecast for annual net profit upwards to almost $30 billion, in addition to its revenue projection.

Toyota announced its decision to set up a wholly-owned company in Shanghai, China, for the development and production of Lexus battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and batteries.

It is reportedly set to begin manufacturing there after 2027, with plans to create around 1,000 new positions and produce approximately 100,000 vehicles annually.

Japanese business newspaper Nikkei had reported in December that Toyota was planning to construct a new factory in Shanghai.

China surpassed Japan as the world's leading automobile exporter in 2022, thanks in part to its dominance in electric vehicles, a market segment where Japanese companies have suffered from falling behind, prioritizing hybrid vehicles instead.

Weak consumer spending and intense competition is making life challenging for many automobile manufacturers globally.

Toyota's approach to offer a diverse array of vehicles, including hybrid models, has been successful in markets such as the United States.

Toyota announced on Wednesday that it anticipates posting a net profit of 4.52 trillion yen ($29.5 billion) for the current fiscal year, which is higher than its previous forecast of 3.57 trillion yen.

The company also increased its full-year sales forecast to 47 trillion yen from 46 trillion yen.

The "upward revision reflects progress made in increasing earnings power, supported by efforts enhancing product competitiveness", the company stated.

Sales of hybrid electric vehicles increased during the period from April to December, according to Toyota.

Over the same timeframe, in China, total vehicle sales decreased from 1.5 to 1.4 million units.

Honda and Nissan, Japan's second- and third-largest automakers after Toyota, have also initiated discussions on a potential merger to enhance their presence in the electric vehicle and autonomous technology sectors.

Reports this week suggest that talks may be faltering due to Honda's proposal to make its financially-strained counterpart, Nissan, a subsidiary.

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© Agence France-Presse

The EU's industry could reduce its CO2 emissions by a quarter with the use of heat pumps, estimates the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).

The current heat pump technology can already supply 37 per cent of the industry's process heat requirements if it was fully implemented.

That is a saving bigger than the annual emissions of the Czech Republic.

“Europe requires competitive and sustainable industrial development, and large-scale heat pumps play a crucial role in this effort,” says Paul Kenny, Director General of the European Heat Pump Association.

“Technology is now providing secure heat, reducing costs, and affordable energy in manufacturing processes, ranging from paper production to pasta-making, and this capacity should and must be further developed.”

What applications can industrial heat pumps be used for in terms of manufacturing processes?

Approximately 60 percent or more of the energy consumed by European industry is utilized for heating purposes, as reported by the European Pest Control Association (EPHA). The majority (around 66 percent) of heat demand is attributed to process heating or the utilization of thermal energy within manufacturing processes.

Approximately 80% of this energy has traditionally been derived from fossil fuels. Presently, a mere 3% originates from renewable electricity and 11% from biomass. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heat energy by 2050 is a top priority to meet existing EU emissions targets.

These systems can reach temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius, making them suitable for processes that need lower temperatures. 37 percent of the total heat energy demand for process heat is from manufacturing that requires temperatures below 200 degrees Celsius.

These processes include beer brewing, dairy processing, and paper manufacturing. For instance, the Wepa Greenfield paper factory in Château-Thierry, France, utilizes a heat pump to evaporate water from paper pulp. A government-backed project utilizes a heat pump to increase the temperature of waste heat from the drying process from 70C to 140C - high enough to undertake drying of the paper pulp.

Why aren't companies currently leveraging heat pumps?

About 16 percent of heat in residential and commercial buildings in the EU now comes from heat pumps.

Companies may be deterred from changing their approach due to a lack of knowledge about the benefits of doing so, and high upfront costs can also serve as a significant obstacle.

Most European countries provide financial incentives or support for companies investing in a large-scale heat pump. A survey by the EPHA discovered that aid is offered in 24 EU countries, including Norway and Switzerland, through means such as grants, loans, or tax relief.

Aims to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy usage in industries that consume significant energy. To achieve this, it seeks to simplify the process of obtaining permits for clean technologies, encourage investments in cleaner alternatives, and support the growth of green markets.

Implementing sustainable food systems, distributing food to the most vulnerable populations, temperature regulation, and educational campaigns are key components of this approach.

"We call on the European Commission to provide industrial heat pumps with priority status in its upcoming plans and strategies," Kenny concludes.

They refer to this concept as "unbossing".

The notion is that middle-management positions are outdated and should either be abolished or reformed in some way.

For younger generations such as Gen-Z, sometimes it's a conscious decision to refuse promotion to middle management roles altogether.

A majority of them (52%), according to a study by UK-based talent specialist Robert Walters, report that it's not worth it, a higher rate is reported in France (77%), in Belgium (42%) and in Switzerland (30%).

Why are young adults born during the late 1990s and early 2000s turning down mid-level management positions at work?

For individuals born between 1997 and 2002, the drawbacks are numerous.

Around 69% of them consider mid-management positions to be high-stress and low-reward jobs, indicating longer work hours and increasing responsibilities without a corresponding increase in salary.

Employees in similar industries reported that lack of autonomy (18%) and limited opportunities for professional growth (11%) are significant factors.

North director Lucy Bisset.

"They no longer feel driven to advance their careers in the classical sense," she mentions.

According to research by Capterra, 71% of mid-level managers confessed to feeling overwhelmed, under a significant amount of stress, and experiencing burnout.

How many would say no to a management role?

While 36% of Gen-Zers accept that they might take on a middle-management role at some point, another 16% are firmly against the idea of assuming such a position.

“Taking on middle management roles may become a significant challenge for employers in the future," says Robert Walters North director Lucy Bisset.

An increasing number of professionals across various age groups has begun to perceive the presence of multiple layers of management as fostering an 'us vs. them' mentality, creating a divide between employees who actually carry out tasks and those who assign tasks.

Seventy-two percent of Gen Zs believe the best way to advance in their careers is to focus on personal growth and skill acquisition, rather than pursuing a management position (28%).

Managers are increasingly being targeted for layoffs.

According to recent statistics, the threat of layoffs might deter the younger workforce from taking on higher management roles even further.

The number of dismissals in senior positions has seen a significant increase, with major companies such as Google, Amazon, and Meta all cutting back on middle management levels in 2023 and 2024.

In 2023, technology news website the Verge reported Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as saying: "I don't believe you want a management structure that's just managers overseeing managers overseeing managers overseeing managers who are overseeing people who do the actual work."

Compared to others, the layoff rate for staff in lower-ranking positions has decreased.

Revitalizing middle management, rather than eliminating it

Only 14% of Gen Z professionals believe the traditional hierarchical structure remains suitable for today's workplace.

Although, 89% of employers still consider mid-managers to be highly important for their organization.

“Mid-level management is a crucial part of any organization," says Bisset, "and employers must find creative ways to make these roles more appealing – such as offering more autonomy, conducting regular workload assessments, and providing opportunities for skill development.”

Adopting an 'unbossed culture' may be the crucial step in transforming the role from solely being perceived as an 'unwanted layer' of management to a facilitator who enables their teams to take ownership of their actions.

• Businessman Mubita C. Nawa shared the journey of creating his dream house, which began more than ten years ago.
• He lacked sufficient funds, so he decided to construct it gradually based on his limited income
• A neighbor, who appeared to have an ample supply of cash, looked down upon his journey but got stranded along the way while Mubita completed his

Homeowner Mubita has embarked on a journey that takes him back in time, one which he began building his dream home.

The entrepreneur shared on Facebook that he began this project 15 years ago, and developed it gradually because he didn't have sufficient funds readily available.

The neighbor's behavior made him feel pressured.

He remembered the feeling of being left behind after his neighbor, who had unlimited financial resources, quickly built his house, whereas he was taking a more measured approach to his own construction project.

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"For every block I bought, it seemed like he bought 50,000 blocks. And his behavior towards me was remarkably rude," he said.

A subtle tone of superiority in his voice caused Mubita to keep a distance, but he would shadow him and show off his massive bank statements.

Mubita remained consistent in his routine.

The man's comments implied that Mubita's efforts fell short compared to his grand ambitions.

Unfazed by the jeers and the rapid pace of his neighbor's building project, the resolute young man remained committed to his well-organized plan.

More than 10 years ago, the confident man's house is still being built, while Mubita's small house has expanded into a grand seven-bedroom estate with a perimeter wall.

"I continue to build my houses in the same manner up until the present day. I progress steadily and according to the availability of funds," he stated.

Lessons learned

Reflecting on his journey, Mubita found the strength to remind people to trust in their own abilities, trusting that they can make progress with their own aspirations.

He insisted that even fixing one window frame a month is still progress, and they would be done in a year if it continues.

"Constructing something is akin to acquiring knowledge," he reflects.

Adding:

While the time it takes to build doesn't matter, the fact is that you need to build and make progress.

Entrepreneur Builds 10 Houses for Rent in 10 Months

In a previous narrative, a video that showcased a young woman who built a rental property accommodating six tenants garnered significant online attention.

She kept a detailed record of the building's development, from the initial laying of its foundation to the completion of its finishing details.

She reported that she accomplished the rental units project within a ten-month timeframe, which triggered a flurry of congratulations from those around her.