TRADE

CEO of Foxconn said fight with Washington is over technology, not trade

The CEO of Taiwan’s Foxconn, which assembles Apple iPhones and other products for tech companies, said Wednesday that Washington’s dispute with China is over technology rather than trade. Terry Gou’s comments at an event celebrating the anniversary of Foxconn’s first investment in mainland China follow Beijing’s threat to scrap trade deals with Washington if President Trump’s tariff hike on Chinese technology products goes ahead. Foxconn Technology Group, also known as Hon Hai President Industry Co., is the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of smartphones, computers, and other technology products and is trying to develop its own brands. Gou said he planned to take part in a groundbreaking ceremony at the end of June for a $10 billion factory that Foxconn is set to build in Wisconsin, but he and other executives said nothing else about the company’s plans there or other initiatives outside China. The White House renewed its threat last week to impose 25 percent tariffs on Chinese technology-related goods in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. It is due to release a list of products on June 15. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

RIDE HAILING

GM president leaves board of Lyft as relationship cools

General Motors Co. president Dan Ammann is stepping down from the board of directors at Lyft Inc., the ride-hailing company said Wednesday. The announcement is the latest sign that GM and Lyft haven’t become the close allies that they once hoped to be. Maggie Wilderotter, a former telecommunications executive who sits on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s board with Ammann, will fill his seat at Lyft, the San Francisco-based company said. Ammann joined Lyft’s board in January 2016 when General Motors invested $500 million in the startup. At the time, the two companies said they hoped to work together closely, leasing GM cars to Lyft drivers in the short term, and building networks of driverless cars in the long term. But those dreams quickly fell apart. Lyft partnered with GM competitor Ford Motor Co. to develop self-driving technology in September 2017. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

TECHNOLOGY

Google employee tells shareholders that executive pay should be tied to diversity efforts

Alphabet Inc.’s annual meeting was turned on its head Wednesday when an employee of Google, the company’s Internet division, took the stage to criticize her bosses’ pay. Irene Knapp, a software engineer for the web-search giant, presented a proposal at Wednesday’s annual shareholder meeting in Mountain View, Calif., on behalf of Zevin Asset Management, which submitted the measure. They requested Alphabet consider certain metrics in incentive plans, with a focus on diversity and inclusion in the workforce. Though the proposal was voted down, it is highly unusual for staff to even comment at annual meetings, let alone to chide their leaders. Sentiment has been growing internally that executives aren’t doing enough to address workplace harassment, said Liz Fong-Jones, a longtime employee who’s backed a petition to create better policies and procedures, including cracking down on ‘‘malicious leaks that have intimidated individuals.’’ Those concerns came to the fore after another engineer, James Damore, wrote a 3,000-word memo assailing the firm’s affirmative action policies . He was fired and sued Alphabet for wrongful termination. In a separate lawsuit last year, the company was accused of paying women less than their male peers. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

REAL ESTATE

Sam Zell uses vulgarity when asked about gender diversity

Real estate investor Sam Zell, asked at a conference Wednesday about gender diversity and the #MeToo movement, said he has promoted women based on merit. Then he used a vulgarity. “I never promoted a woman because she was a woman. I never demoted a woman because she was a woman. My issue is what do you do, what do you produce, how do you interrelate to the rest of the business,’’ Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments Inc., said at the REITweek investor conference in Manhattan. “I don’t think there’s ever been a, ‘We gotta get more p---- on the block, OK?’’’ Zell, 76, added, eliciting gasps and laughter from the hundreds at the gathering. “Those things can get me in trouble, right?’’ Zell said. Steven Wechsler, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, the conference’s organizer, responded, “If I said that, I’d be in more trouble.’’ Ron Kuykendall, a spokesman for the REIT association, said the group “doesn’t condone the use of that language.’’ — BLOOMBERG NEWS

TRADE

Mexico’s tariff plan has maker of Jack Daniel’s worried

Mexico’s plan to slap tariffs of 25 percent on Tennessee whiskey in retaliation for President Trump’s levies on its steel and aluminum could spell bad news for the distiller of Jack Daniel’s in one of its biggest growth markets. Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. said it’s hard to accurately forecast future sales growth with so much uncertainty surrounding the proposed tariffs. Only about 5 percent of the company’s total sales are in Mexico currently, but that’s been growing rapidly, with the country logging a 15 percent bump in reported net sales last quarter. By comparison, demand in its much larger home market grew just 7 percent. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

ECONOMY

Productivity grew at just 0.4 percent in first quarter

US productivity grew at an annual rate of just 0.4 percent in the first quarter, even weaker than initially estimated, while labor costs rose at a bit faster pace. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the January-March productivity increase was revised down from the 0.7 percent gain initially estimated a month ago. Labor costs rose 2.9 percent, up from an initial estimate of a 2.7 percent gain in the first quarter. The rise in productivity was only marginally better than the 0.3 percent increase in the fourth quarter but below the 2.6 percent third quarter increase. Productivity, a key factor determining how fast the economy can grow and how much living standards can increase, has been anemic throughout the economic recovery. It increased just 1.3 percent for all of 2017. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

INTERNATIONAL

French presidency to sell souvenirs to finance renovations to presidential palace

The French presidency plans to sell its own branded mugs, pens, and other souvenirs to help finance renovations in the 18th century Elysee palace. The presidency said Wednesday it has registered its brand and seeks bids for a licensing partnership to sell products. Until now, the Elysee’s souvenirs were sold only when the palace was open to visitors once a year. They also have been used as gifts for the president’s guests. The presidency now wants to define a marketing strategy and have better visibility. French media report that an online shop could open by September to sell the products, which would be a first. The cost of the palace renovations is estimated at 100 million euros ($117 million) over the next seven years. — ASSOCIATED PRESS