Macca’s will now pay you to stay

Macca’s is taking drastic measures to find workers as labour shortages continue around the country. Meanwhile Apple and Amazon defy an advertising downturn and Meta dials back its TikTok impersonation. These are the five big stories from the week that was.

1. McBonus

Australian unemployment is at a 48-year low and businesses are trying desperate measures to find new workers and retain them.

Some McDonald’s franchises are now offering $1,000 sign-up bonuses just to get new applicants through the door and operating the deep fryer.

Regional towns like Lithgow meanwhile are in such need of a GP they’re giving a $20,000 bonus to anyone willing to move.

With hundreds of thousands of unfilled job vacancies across the country, and inflation rising, workers are reasonably demanding more.

2. Apples & Oranges

Apple and Amazon are defying a broader tech slowdown and continuing to grow even as shrinking advertising dollars hurt the sector .

Overnight Apple said strong demand for its iPhone 13 and services, including subscriptions and apps, will help it ‘accelerate’ this year.

Amazon meanwhile revealed it is set to grow revenue by 17% despite rising prices and supply constraints.

3. Anti-social

Meta has slumped even further after recording its first decline in revenue since it went public back in 2012. Shares are down 52% this year.

It’s in a tight spot. By trying to increase video engagement on its platforms (a la TikTok) , Zuckerberg admits it is giving up revenue and ‘self-cannibalising’.  

There may be some relief. Overnight Instagram folded to pressure from the Kardashians and others and began to roll back its controversial growth strategy.

4. Fitness slump

Shares in F45 plummeted this week after the CEO and founder of the Australian gym giant walked away from the business.

Taking a $10 million payout with him, it leaves the business short on cash and reeling as it looks to lay off staff.

In the same update, F45 said it is on track to open just one third of the 1000 new franchises it had planned this year.

5. Spot the difference

Spotify has now racked up 433 million global users, beating estimates and finding five million more than expected this quarter.

Of those, 188 million are paid subscribers, pulling the streaming giant even further ahead of the pack.

In fact, Spotify now has more than twice the subscribers of Apple Music. Want to learn more about the streaming pioneer? Read this week’s Deep Dive.