SpotlightAugust&September2021

Spotlight on Business Headlines

CHIPOTLE IS TESTING A MEATLESS CHORIZO C hipotle Mexican Grill recently announced that the burrito chain is testing meat-free chorizo in Indianapolis and Denver. The plant-based al- ternative chorizo would be the company’s first new meatless protein option since it added tofu-based sof- ritas in 2014. Chipotle’s meatless chorizo will use pea protein as its base, with ancho chili and chipotle peppers, tomato paste, garlic, paprika and olive oil to add flavor. Ac - cording to Chipotle, the meat substitute is being of- fered to give their customers more options as plant- based lifestyles continue to gain popularity among North Americans.

MASTERCARD AND VERIZON ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP M astercard and Verizon announced a partner- ship focused on 5G contactless payments for consumers as well as small and medium sized businesses. They hope to have some innovations from the partner- ship by 2023. The collaboration aims to enable businesses to use emerging payment technologies to turn smartphones into cash registers, to turn wearables like watches as payment devices, and to facilitate touchless retail similar to Amazon Go stores. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES OFFERS STAFF REFERRAL BONUSES S outhwest Airlines launches a new hiring referral bonus for staff as the carrier struggles to hire new workers to keep up with a rebound in travel demand. Southwest staff can receive 20,000 “SWAG Points” — 10,000 on their referral’s first day of work and 10,000 after that person completes six months with the airline. Those points on Southwest’s internal platform have a taxable value of 1.5 cents each, a company document says, giving the points a value of about $300. Southwest’s points can be redeemed for frequent flyer miles, gift cards or concert tickets. The move comes as Southwest and other carriers spent much of the pandemic urging workers to take early retirement packages or unpaid or partially paid time off. Now, they are scrambling to hire or retrain staff to cater to the rebound in travel demand that materialized faster than many airline executives expected.

MACY’S IS JOINING FORCES WITH TOYS R US I t is official Macy’s is joining forces with the owner of Toys R Us to bring an assortment of toys, games and other gadgets for kids to more than 400 of the department store chain’s locations and online. The companies announced that The Toys R Us shop-in- shops in Macy’s will roll out next year however, a larger assortment of Toys R Us merchandise is now available on Macy’s website if you can’t wait until next year.

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

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