Category: 3. Business

A standing wave in a Munich stream that has been a surfing magnet for more than four decades has vanished, leaving urban surfers high and dry.

Water levels in the Eisbach (“ice brook”) dropped last week for annual cleanup work along the streambed.

But when the gates reopened and water began to flow again on Friday, the Eisbach wave did not form as usual.

“We’re at a loss,” surfer Klaus Rudolf told Stern magazine. “I was standing at the edge with my board on Friday evening and couldn’t believe it.”

The Eisbach wave in the Englischer Garten park has become a landmark in the Bavarian city since rogue surfers in the 1980s turned it from an occasional natural phenomenon to a permanent surfable presence.

“The city administration is working with the Water Management Office and surfers to find a quick solution so that the famous surf wave will soon be available again as usual,” Mayor Dieter Reiter said in a statement Tuesday.

Exactly why the wave vanished remained unclear on Tuesday, according to city officials.

The recent work cleared debris from the streambed and inspected the waterway.

“No structural changes were made to the Eisbach wave or its banks during the cleanup,” the city said, and an inspection of the site Monday did not reveal any damage.

Officials plan to divert more water from the Isar River into the Eisbach in hopes the wave reappears.

The Eisbach wave is generally considered the largest and most consistent river wave in the heart of a major city, and has become a tourist attraction in Bavaria’s state capital, which is otherwise known for beer and sausage at the annual Oktoberfest.

Franz Fasel, head of the local surfers’ association IGSM, told AFP in July that 3,000 to 5,000 local surfers use the Eisbach wave.

“Surfing is simply part of the lifestyle in Munich,” he said. “Not just for the surfers themselves, but also for the city’s image.”

At the time, the Eisbach wave had just reopened after a months-long closure after the April death of a 33-year-old Munich woman who became trapped under the surface while surfing at night.

Since it reopened to surfers, new safety rules banned night-time surfing and set a minimum age of 14 to brave the water.

What you’ll learn:

• Manufacturing companies that listen to their front-line workers pay their employees 3.6% more than those that don’t.
• Such manufacturers also see 16% higher productivity.
• 62% of workplaces report daily use of worker voice, but only one-fifth of manufacturing companies report having multiple channels for worker voice.

---

In the hustle and bustle of manufacturing, it’s not uncommon for managers to lose touch with front-line workers. But when companies seek out and heed input from these employees, everyone benefits: Employers see higher productivity, and employees see higher pay. 

That’s the conclusion of new research from MIT Sloan professor Nathan Wilmers and Dylan Nelson, professor of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

The study, based on data from a federally mandated U.S. Census Bureau survey of 30,000 U.S. manufacturing establishments, revealed that the productivity boost that manufacturers experienced more than compensated for the labor costs they incurred.

“The average establishment that seeks out worker input records more productivity gains than they’re paying out in higher labor costs, which is good news,” Wilmers said.

Here’s more detail on the study and its findings: 

Finding 1: Manufacturers that incorporate employee feedback have higher productivity.  

Employers that used input from their employees (“worker voice”) saw productivity rise by 16% (as determined by revenue generated per worker). 

Front-line workers are ideal candidates to offer first-person accounts of production or machinery issues. “Very often, the first thought for a manager is ‘OK, can I get more out of my engineers?’ or ‘Can I get some technology-based improvement?’ and they might overlook the value that they can get from front-line workers,” Wilmers said. 

In an auto manufacturing plant, for example, engineers are the ones who create the plan for how to build a car. But as front-line workers actually execute on that plan, they’re the ones who are able to discern how to set up the system more efficiently and reorganize what’s happening on the shop floor. 

As indicated by their self-reported answers on the survey, successful companies recorded and incorporated this employee input into their decision-making. 

Finding 2: Manufacturers that incorporate employee feedback pay their workers more, with the increase offset by productivity gains.  

The research found that companies that use input from their employees pay workers 3.6% more, on average. They do this because:

• They’re able to, given the productivity boost and a subsequent increase in revenue.
• They more highly value their workers and the input they provide. Even when the authors adjusted their model to remove extraneous factors, such as a windfall gain related to an improved business position, they still found a small wage premium among firms that sought out worker voice. 

  “When these front-line workers give valuable information, this raises their value to the company and allows them to get a bigger slice of the pie as their own suggested product improvements are being implemented,” Wilmers said. 

  This holds true whether the workers ask for a raise or whether the companies offer it of their own accord.

  Wilmers noted that AI is unlikely to offset labor costs, at least initially, because “front-line manufacturing workers in a lot of ways are pretty protected from AI-type changes because they’re mostly working with their hands.”

• Workers with perceived value have more bargaining power. 

  Some 62% of workplaces surveyed reported daily use of worker voice, but only one-fifth of manufacturing companies reported having multiple channels for worker voice. Why?

  “One reason suggested by our data is that while worker voice in production increases productivity, it also increases bargaining power,” the authors write. Although this can raise labor costs for employers, the authors argue that the overall productivity benefit trumps higher costs. 

Finding 3: For workers, unions still matter. 

Worker voice and increased pay have long been hallmarks of organized labor, and the authors note that their findings don’t negate the need for union membership, which hit a new low in 2024. 

Their research showed that financial gains from union membership are approximately twice as large as the average pay boost that workers see at employers that use their input. 

“Our view is that although direct voice does benefit workers on average in manufacturing, it’s not a big enough magnitude to substitute for the union benefit,” Wilmers said. 

Finding 4: Employee input can help with retention. 

Incorporating worker feedback can also help companies retain employees because it allows workers to feel seen, heard, and valued. It might also be possible, Wilmers said, that companies are able to pay their workers less because they are happy in their current positions. 

“We don’t look at that directly, but that would paradoxically be one reason that you maybe wouldn’t expect an earnings benefit of worker voice,” Wilmers said. “If worker voice is making workers happier, and they feel valued, maybe you can pay them a little bit less because they’re working in an environment where they feel listened to. So it could be the case that’s also happening in the background and already offsetting a little bit of the earnings gain that we measured.”

Strategy, Survival, and Success in the Age of Industrial AI

In person at MIT Sloan

Register now

A systematic approach to capturing worker voice

Given those findings, Wilmers said, employers should develop a systematic approach to seeking feedback and consider it “a real source of value” for the organization.

“Management is hard, and it requires balancing between different priorities, but our paper shows that there are productivity gains to be had. This could be worth focusing on more than managers currently are,” he said. 

Wilmers advised seeking input in multiple formats, including stand-up meetings, an annual feedback process, and worker surveys.

Beyond manufacturing: Other industries where front-line workers have value to add

Wilmers said the research findings are relevant beyond the manufacturing sector and could be applied in other hands-on, “learning-by-doing” settings, such as retail, restaurants, or construction. In such environments, “there might be a disconnect between the workers who are actually doing the job and the managers who have to make decisions about the business,” he said.

Consider, for instance, a retail store that is reorienting its business for e-commerce and therefore doing more delivery and in-store pickup and transforming its operations into a warehouse. In this case, there would be a lot of learning by doing and shifting away from the standard way of selling goods, and the retailer would need to figure out what is and isn’t working as new processes are put into place. 

In this case, “the people actually doing that work are going to be really effective at giving feedback on it,” Wilmers said. 

The full research paper, “Earnings Effects of Direct Worker Voice in Production,” covers wages, employee feedback, productivity, and effective management practices in manufacturing. 

---

Nathan Wilmers is an associate professor of Work and Organization Studies at MIT Sloan and part of the core faculty the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research. Wilmers researches wage and earnings inequality, economic sociology, and the sociology of labor. In his empirical research, he studies how wage stagnation and rising earnings inequality result from weakening labor market institutions, changing market power, and job restructuring. He received widespread attention for his research showing that casual chain restaurants like Applebee’s and Chili’s are the best places for people in the U.S. to meet and socialize with those from different income classes.

Dylan Nelson is an assistant professor of business administration at the at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Gies College of Business. His research seeks to link questions of performance and productivity to questions of purpose, worker experience, and workers’ job mobility.

Trade union RMT says it has agreed a three-year pay deal for Tube workers as well as “fatigue-friendly” rosters, further discussions on staff travel and a “consistent” Boxing Day payment of £400.

The pay deal consists of a 3.4% increase, effective from 1 April 2025, with a guaranteed rise of 3% in year two and a 2.5% rise in year three.

Five days of Tube strikes badly disrupted London in September, and the deal lifts the union’s threat of more industrial action.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “This deal is a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of strike action and strong negotiation by our members.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “We welcome the decision from the RMT to accept our pay offer. This multi-year offer is fair, affordable and provides certainty for our colleagues over pay for several years.

“We are engaging with all of our unions on this offer and look forward to their responses.”

TfL said that no changes have been proposed to working hours as part of the pay offer.

Yum! Brands is exploring a possible sale of its Pizza Hut chain, as the business struggles to compete with rivals in the pizza business to win over cash-strapped consumers.

Pizza Hut has reported several quarters of declining same-store sales in the US – a market that makes up 42% of its global sales. The US woes have dragged down the business, even as sales rise in some other markets.

“Pizza Hut’s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realise its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum! Brands,” chief executive Chris Turner said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added “strategic options” were being examined for its pizza division.

Pizza Hut, which saw sales at its existing outlets fall 1% overall in the most recent quarter, has lagged behind other big names in the Yum! portfolio. Notably, KFC and Taco Bell, which is known for its low-price meals, have both shown signs of strength.

Taco Bell’s same-store sales rose 7% in the most recent quarter, while same-store sales at KFC increased 3% despite recent challenges in the US.

Yum! generates about 11% of its operating profits from its Pizza Hut business. It operates roughly 20,000 Pizza Hut stores globally, about 6,500 of which are located in the US.

Competitors in the pizza market, like Papa Johns and Domino’s Pizza, also continue to grab market share, contributing to Pizza Hut’s struggles to stay competitive. Domino’s last month reported that its quarterly sales role 6%, which executives attributed in part to promotions.

Mr Turner, who took the helm of Yum! last month, said Pizza Hut employees have been “working hard to address business and category challenges”.

Yum! did not specify when the company will make a decision about what comes next for the Pizza Hut brand.

Beyond competition in the pizza business, Yum has faced a pullback in spending among consumers weighed down by persistent inflation and a slowdown in the labour market.

The trend of cautious spending has affected the fast-food restaurant industry as a whole in recent months. Last week, an executive at the burrito chain Chipotle said younger consumers in particular are showing sign of strain, stemming from unemployment and loan repayments.

On a call with analysts on Tuesday, Mr Turner of Yum! referred to US consumers as “cautious but incredibly resilient”. He said spending at Taco Bell has held up despite macroeconomic pressures.

In the UK, Pizza Hut is closing half of its restaurants as consumers in that market shy away from the chain, too. Over time, Pizza Hut’s market has been sliced up and distributed to its trendier, more nimble rivals.

QSA’s initiatives have led to over a dozen patents, numerous scientific publications, and the creation of startups that are bringing quantum technology to the market. Multiple quantum companies have benefited from QSA’s extensive research network and ongoing collaborations, utilizing the expertise, feedback, and techniques shared by QSA partners to enhance their processes. Additionally, five QSA principal investigators have co-founded quantum companies, applying research results to promising industry use cases. 

QSA has also trained a new generation of scientists and engineers, many of whom are now leading quantum research at top companies and universities, alongside high school students and teachers. In addition to the 150 graduate students and 100 postdoctoral students delivering cutting edge research in QSA annually, QSA’s QCaMP program has introduced quantum to over 160 high school teachers and 3,200 students across the country. Building on this success, QSA will help create a quantum-ready workforce with new pathways and partnerships that engage undergraduates in community colleges via hands-on training programs. 

To learn more about QSA’s many achievements, this article highlights five ways QSA has advanced quantum computing. And this Q&A with de Jong showcases QSA’s progress, exciting plans for the future, and the kinds of breakthroughs to expect as quantum systems grow and mature.

Leveraging QSA’s expertise and capabilities

QSA develops next-generation quantum capabilities by integrating multidisciplinary teams across its partner institutions and leveraging specialized quantum-ready facilities at Berkeley Lab, Sandia National Laboratories, and other leading institutions. 

Berkeley Lab, for example, partners with industry and academia and works across the quantum research ecosystem — from theory to application — to fabricate and test quantum-based devices, develop software and algorithms, and build prototype computers and networks. Berkeley Lab’s national user facilities provide state-of-the-art resources for scientists in QSA and beyond to advance the frontiers of quantum science. This includes the Advanced Light Source, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), and the Molecular Foundry, which has a QIS cluster tool that enables researchers to experiment with dozens of materials and methods for making qubit components in a single automated system. The Molecular Foundry will also soon add a dilution refrigerator that will enable high-throughput analysis of qubits. Berkeley Lab also leads the Advanced Quantum Testbed (AQT), a collaborative research laboratory and open-access testbed to advance quantum computing based on superconducting circuits. In this video, de Jong, shares how quantum research at Berkeley Lab is forging the future of quantum breakthroughs by collaborating with researchers across institutions.

###

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the U.S., and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

The Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA) is one of the five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and with Sandia National Laboratories as lead partner, QSA catalyzes national leadership in quantum information science to co-design the algorithms, quantum devices, and engineering solutions needed to deliver certified quantum advantage in scientific applications. QSA brings together dozens of scientists who are pioneers of many of today’s unique quantum engineering and fabrication capabilities. In addition to industry and academic partners across the world, 15 institutions are part of QSA: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, University of Colorado at Boulder, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Caltech, Duke University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,, UC Berkeley, University of Maryland, University of New Mexico, Cornell University, University of Washington, and Canada’s Université de Sherbrooke and University of Waterloo. QSA’s industrial partners are Applied Materials, Atom Computing, IonQ, Maybell, QoLab, Quantum Machines, Quantinuum, QuEra, and Riverlane. For more information, please visit https://quantumsystemsaccelerator.org/

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 4, 2025 – Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, safe, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced its inclusion in Newsweek’s America’s Most Reliable Companies 2026, presented in collaboration with Statista.

America’s Most Reliable Companies 2026 were identified through a comprehensive independent survey of more than 1,700 U.S. participants, evaluating businesses on five key metrics: likelihood of recommendation, ease of doing business, value for money, consistency of deliverables and reputation for dependability.

“At Johnson Controls, we take pride in being a trusted partner to our customers, helping them grow their businesses in complex, mission-critical environments,” said Todd Grabowski, President, Americas at Johnson Controls. “Being named one of America’s Most Reliable Companies is a testament to how our teams put the customer at the center of everything we do, from the technicians delivering service in the field to the engineers driving innovation behind the scenes.”

Reliability is the foundation of long-term success, and this recognition underscores Johnson Controls’ unwavering commitment to earning and maintaining the trust of its customers, partners and stakeholders. Inclusion in this list highlights the dedication of the entire Johnson Controls team to deliver consistent quality, transparent communication and dependable results year after year. Johnson Controls has an unmatched field position in the industry and proudly employs over 15,000 skilled technicians across the Americas, and 40,000 globally, who – alongside our sales teams – are the face of the company. 

View the full list on Newsweek’s website.

 

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Ben Hoekstra  
Direct: +1 414 630 0482
Email: media@jci.com

 

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet. 

Building on a proud history of 140 years of innovation, we deliver the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through OpenBlue, our comprehensive digital offering. 

Today, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology and software as well as service solutions from some of the most trusted names in the industry. 

Visit johnsoncontrols.com for more information and follow @Johnsoncontrols on social platforms.

 

About Statista

Statista produces hundreds of global industry rankings and company listings in partnership with leading media outlets. Its research and analysis service is powered by the data-driven expertise of statista.com, a premier business intelligence portal offering comprehensive market insights, statistics, and consumer studies.