Jim Rowley, Chief Executive Officer of Crunch Fitness, discusses making "difficult" decisions to close gyms and lay off employees. Rowley also discusses how the pandemic has resulted in a loss of revenue. He explains how franchisees are unable to qualify for federal stimulus or insurance even as landlords continue to collect rent.

Hosts: Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Doni Holloway.

Jim Rowley, Chief Executive Officer of Crunch Fitness, discusses making "difficult" decisions to close gyms and lay off employees. Rowley also discusses how the pandemic has resulted in a loss of revenue. He explains how franchisees are unable to qualify for federal stimulus or insurance even as landlords continue to collect rent.Hosts: Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Doni Holloway.

Listen for reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead. Hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec cover the changing world of money, power and technology. You can watch and listen to Businessweek LIVE on YouTube, weekdays from 2PM to 5PM ET: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. 

Listen for reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead. Hosts Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec cover the changing world of money, power and technology.&nbsp;You can watch and listen to Businessweek LIVE on YouTube, weekdays from 2PM to 5PM ET:&nbsp;<a href="http://bit.ly/3vTiACF">http://bit.ly/3vTiACF</a>.&nbsp;

Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec bring together the latest news from the world of business and finance and the interesting stories of global technology, politics, economics and more by harnessing the power of Bloomberg Businessweek reporters and editors.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Crunch CEO on Range of Emotions Over Virus

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bbcb4d82-5a03-4746-b6a7-ae2b007a15bd/transcript

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily."
Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec

Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio.

You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News.
Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW

Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily." Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio. You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News. Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW

Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend: May 22nd, 2026

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/82e17592-4fd5-4a72-aac4-b45200ea3dec/transcript

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

During the pandemic and the subsequent "Great Resignation," corporate leaders adopted an empathetic, employee-friendly persona, offering flexible remote-work policies, wellness perks, and mental health support to attract scarce talent. However, as economic pressures like inflation and high interest rates mounted, the labor market cooled, shifting leverage firmly back into the hands of employers. In response, CEOs quickly abandoned their "warm and fuzzy" approach to prioritize profit margins and shareholder demands.

This shift has ushered in a ruthless return to aggressive workforce management and cost-cutting. To extract maximum productivity, executives are enforcing strict return-to-office mandates, rolling back employee perks, and utilizing performance reviews to quietly downsize staff. With fewer job openings available, workers are being forced to accept heavier workloads and tighter corporate surveillance, signaling a definitive end to the brief era of employee empowerment.

On this episode, Carol and Tim speak with:
Matthew Boyle, Bloomberg News Senior Reporter, Work and Management on CEOs Drop Warm and Fuzzy in 'Ruthless' Push to Squeeze Workers
Nakul Duggal, Head of Qualcomm's Automotive, Robotics and IoT Businesses on Qualcomm and Stellantis announced a partnership to enable automated driving on millions of Stellantis vehicles using Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Ride Pilot system 
 Stew Leonard Jr., Stew Leonard's President & CEO on Memorial Day grilling/grocery costs

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: <a href="http://bit.ly/3vTiACF">http://bit.ly/3vTiACF</a>. During the pandemic and the subsequent "Great Resignation," corporate leaders adopted an empathetic, employee-friendly persona, offering flexible remote-work policies, wellness perks, and mental health support to attract scarce talent. However, as economic pressures like inflation and high interest rates mounted, the labor market cooled, shifting leverage firmly back into the hands of employers. In response, CEOs quickly abandoned their "warm and fuzzy" approach to prioritize profit margins and shareholder demands. This shift has ushered in a ruthless return to aggressive workforce management and cost-cutting. To extract maximum productivity, executives are enforcing strict return-to-office mandates, rolling back employee perks, and utilizing performance reviews to quietly downsize staff. With fewer job openings available, workers are being forced to accept heavier workloads and tighter corporate surveillance, signaling a definitive end to the brief era of employee empowerment. On this episode, Carol and Tim speak with:
<ul>
<li>Matthew Boyle, Bloomberg News Senior Reporter, Work and Management on CEOs Drop Warm and Fuzzy in 'Ruthless' Push to Squeeze Workers</li>
<li>Nakul Duggal, Head of Qualcomm's Automotive, Robotics and IoT Businesses on Qualcomm and Stellantis announced a partnership to enable automated driving on millions of Stellantis vehicles using Qualcomm Technologies&rsquo; Snapdragon Ride Pilot system </li>
<li>&nbsp;Stew Leonard Jr., Stew Leonard's President &amp; CEO on Memorial Day grilling/grocery costs</li>
</ul>

CEOs Drop Warm and Fuzzy in 'Ruthless' Push to Squeeze Workers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/978697bd-37f4-4b94-a61e-b452015d2d09/transcript

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

When Kevin Hart announced in January that he’d licensed his name to Authentic Brands Group, the popular comedian was silent on a key detail: the future of his namesake media company. Hart sold some ownership and oversight of his brand in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money and a stake in Authentic, a New York-based firm that manages the likenesses of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal and David Beckham. Hart used the partnership with Authentic to reset his relationship with the people around him and his company, according to six current and former employees. Hart’s employees say they worry that this deal marks the beginning of the end of Hartbeat, the comedian’s namesake media company that produces films, owns a network of short-form video channels and handles marketing for brands. Though the announcement made no mention of Hartbeat, the agreement gave Hart money to buy out his private equity partner in the company over time and regain control of the use of his name, image and likeness. Hart’s endorsement deals, which had been a pillar of Hartbeat business, will now be handled by Authentic.

For more, Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo speak with Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg News Managing Editor, Media & Entertainment and writer of the Bloomberg Screentime Newsletter

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: <a href="http://bit.ly/3vTiACF">http://bit.ly/3vTiACF</a>. When Kevin Hart announced in January that he&rsquo;d licensed his name to Authentic Brands Group, the popular comedian was silent on a key detail: the future of his namesake media company. Hart sold some ownership and oversight of his brand in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money and a stake in Authentic, a New York-based firm that manages the likenesses of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and David Beckham. Hart used the partnership with Authentic to reset his relationship with the people around him and his company, according to six current and former employees. Hart&rsquo;s employees say they worry that this deal marks the beginning of the end of Hartbeat, the comedian&rsquo;s namesake media company that produces films, owns a network of short-form video channels and handles marketing for brands. Though the announcement made no mention of Hartbeat, the agreement gave Hart money to buy out his private equity partner in the company over time and regain control of the use of his name, image and likeness. Hart&rsquo;s endorsement deals, which had been a pillar of Hartbeat business, will now be handled by Authentic. For more, Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo speak with Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg News Managing Editor, Media &amp; Entertainment and writer of the Bloomberg Screentime Newsletter

Inside a Year of Chaos at Kevin Hart’s Media Company

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a65e6b4f-e19c-4865-910e-b451015cc0d0/transcript

Crunch CEO on Range of Emotions Over Virus

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