News
Honestbee CEO files an affidavit revealing that it owes $1 million in salary to employees
A Singapore-based startup named Honestbee has come under the radar as its CEO has filed an affidavit which reveals something glaring regarding its operations. We have reported that the company has been struggling with financial issues for a long time. Now, an affidavit filed by Honestbee’s CEO reveals that they owe 217 employees a total of almost USD $1 million in unpaid salary. This means that the company is in huge debts and we are not sure how long the company will run without funds on their hands. Honestbee CEO Ong Lay Ann filed this affidavit on September 20 as part of the startup’s debt moratorium application.
A spokesperson from Honestbee sent an email to TechCrunch revealing that “There is a communicated salary delay for Honestbee’s ex-employees and employees currently serving notice. While there are regular injections of working capital, the amount remains insufficient for all headcount. As a result, the company has made the difficult decision to prioritize existing staff in Singapore. The company has the full intention in meeting its obligations to staff and will be, if not already in active discussions with staff in relation to a feasible payment schedule.”
The statement clearly mentions that they are in a cash crunch and want to prioritize current staff rather than paying ex-employees and employees serving the “notice” period. Honestbee, which is a food delivery service, was operating in eight markets across Asia at one point of time. However, they were forced to stop operations in Hong Kong and Indonesia, temporarily halted services in Japan and the Philippines and suspended its food delivery service in Thailand as per a report.
This affidavit also reveals that Honestbee currently has 190 employees, down from 523 full-time employees and 77 part-time workers in January. Also, the company was already looking for buyers and is still looking for one as the CEO reveals Honestbee chairman Brian Koo resigned from the board on Sept. 12.
NEW K.ID, the No.1 TV channel for all K-Pop entertainment and source (https://cutt.ly/NEWKID), announced its weekly chart for the 3rd week of August.
BLACKPINK retains its #1 spot in the NEW K.ID’s weekly chart for three consecutive weeks as they tie with WINNER’s previous record. BLACKPINK has announced a new single dropping on August 28th which will be a collaboration with American pop star, Selena Gomez. Selena Gomez also recently teased her collaboration with BLACKPINK on her Instagram post captioned, “SELPINK pulling up soon. 8/28”.
Following their release of the single, BLACKPINK will be releasing their first debut album on October 2nd.
PENTAGON, SHINee, GWSN, and N.Flying all retained their spots in TOP5. The 6th place, WINNER, celebrated their 6th year debut anniversary. MINO posted a photo of WINNER on his Instagram, celebrating the time and unforgettable memories that they have spent together for the last 6 years.
Ranked at #9, SF9’s Rowoon has been named as ‘The North Face white label’s F/W’ model and its brand ambassador. With a height over 6’3’’, Rowoon not only has a youthful personality but also has various talents as he can both sing and act in various entertainment fields. The North Face saw that Rowoon’s versatility perfectly matched its brand image and decided to partner with Rowoon.
Coming in at #10, DAY6’s sub-unit, Even of Day, is releasing a new album, ‘The Book of Us: Gluon – Nothing can tear us apart’ on August 31st. All 7 songs in the album are written and produced by the Even of Day members. Young K is expected to play guitar in place of Sungjin and Jae. JYP’s representative commented, “Young K showed his expertise on the bass guitar and will continue to play more instruments.” It was also mentioned that Wonpil’s synthesizer and Dowoon’s electronic drum will be key in this album.
Additionally, in last week’s ‘2020 SORIBADA BEST K-MUSIC AWARDS’, GWSN and LOONA won New Wave New Artist Awards while GFRIEND took the main prize (bonsang) home.
NEW K.ID, the only TV channel that allows viewers to enjoy K-POP Idol-related content programming 24/7 and exclusive episodes curated from 10K+ videos, is available at CH 511 for free on LG Smart TVs and XUMO apps on all Internet-connected devices.
Breaking News
Death after unmasked arrest – Mexico Floyd
The official reason for the arrest revealed by the police is not known, but the video footage posted on social media at the time of the arrest suggests that the reason is “not wearing a mask.”
Amid a stir across the U.S. over the “George Floyd” incident that killed white police abuses, similar cases of abuse of public power have been revealed in Mexico, sparking public outrage.
The daily El Universal has been protesting against the incident since it was belatedly revealed that construction worker Giovanni Lopez died the next day after being arrested by police in Guadalajara, western Mexico, on April 4.
The official reason for the arrest revealed by the police is not known, but the video footage posted on social media at the time of the arrest suggests that the reason is “not wearing a mask.”
Death of George Floyd
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed face down in the street