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Labor Day 2020 sees the US economy in trouble because of Covid 19 and the bungled federal government response to the ongoing global pandemic. In August, the U.S. economy added 1.4 million jobs according to the Labor Department, down from 1.7 million in July and down abruptly from the 4.8 million added in June. Workforces are still more than 11 million jobs below their pre-pandemic level.
The unemployment rate fell to 8.4%, down from 14.7% in April and 10.2 % in July (The so-called U-3 measure is people without jobs who must have looked for a job in the last four weeks). Any way you look at it, joblessness is still higher than the peak of many past recessions. The real unemployment rate was 14.2% because it contains 535,000 discouraged workers. (This is U-6 or the real rate because it includes people who would like a better job. It also includes those who are underemployed and marginally attached.)
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Nikola and General Motors Partner! Nikola Badger Truck to be Engineered and Manufactured by GM
The agreement with Nikola also extends General Motors’ use of its fuel cell technology to the Class 7/8 semi-truck market and represents a high-volume commercialization of its Hydrotec fuel cell system.
Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today announced a “strategic partnership” that starts with the Nikola Badger and carries cost reductions through Nikola’s other programs. Badger is anticipated to enter production by year-end 2022. This is potentially a deal that can drastically change the transportation world.
“We would rather work with them than against them,” said Nikola founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton on a phone call with reporters and analysts. Once again the latest linkup is an attempt to share the ruinously expensive costs of investment needed to provide 21st century mobility to a business that until a generation ago was essentially an outgrowth of the 19th century blacksmithing business.
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