“Sundar Pichai is here, everybody, the C.E.O., of course, of Alphabet and Google. How much of your time, and I promise we’d get to it, is spent these days on thinking about this legal case that you are the center of with the U.S. government saying you’re a monopoly and we are going to break you up? They have talked about effectively trying to do a whole bunch of things, spinning off Chrome, figuring out how to deal with Android, preventing you from paying folks like Apple to make Google the default search engine on the phone.” “Look, I spend the vast majority of my time on innovation and product innovation we need to do as a company. But at our scale as a company, it’s a big part of my job to engage with regulators and viewed it as an important part of my role to do that. From a legal standpoint, look, these are complex cases. They are in the thick of it. We have very, very capable teams which work through it. I have, I spend time, but it’s not an extraordinary amount of time or something like that, yeah.” “But what do you think your chances are, if you will? I mean, do you say to you, I don’t know how much you want to speculate, but there’s a big question mark about if any of these things were to come to pass, what it would do to the business?” “Look, I mean, I would say this even through the ruling, the judge commented on that we are clearly the highest quality search engine product out there. And we have gotten to that position by innovating ahead of everyone else.”

With a major oil refinery in Wilmington and Carson scheduled to close next year, Los Angeles County officials are looking to shore up resources for hundreds of workers who will be left without jobs.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion Tuesday asking county staff to work with local partners such as the city of Los Angeles and the South Bay Workforce Investment Board to develop a plan to provide hiring fairs, training and other job placement resources for affected workers.

Oil giant Phillips 66 announced in October that the century-old complex, which sprawls across 650 acres and produces about 8% of the state’s gasoline, would cease operations late next year. Its closure will affect some 600 employees and 300 contract workers that keep its operations running.

Supervisor Janice Hahn said at the meeting that more than half of the affected workforce is Latino and includes skilled workers such as operators, welders, engineers and safety compliance experts that would bring “years of specialized training and certifications” to other jobs. She said they should receive support to help them make the transition to similar jobs in renewable energy, infrastructure development and advanced manufacturing.

“This is a time the county needs to lean in and support them as they face this abrupt transition,” Hahn said.

Supervisors Hahn and Holly Mitchell introduced the motion, which also asks various departments to identify career pathways for “hard-to-hire” skilled trade positions within the county itself.

“We have the responsibility to ensure that displaced workers can smoothly transition … not just by partnering with the private sector but also by opening up doors here at the county,” Mitchell said at the meeting.

The county’s Director of Economic Opportunity has 60 days to report back to the board with an action plan.

The announcement of the pending closure came amid community concerns of harmful emissions and high pollution levels. Mark Lashier, chairman and chief executive of Phillips 66, said in an October news release that the long-term sustainability of the operation was “uncertain and affected by market dynamics.”

“We understand this decision has an impact on our employees, contractors and the broader community,” Lashier said. “We will work to help and support them through this transition.”

The closure will leave the state with eight major refineries, three in the Bay Area and five in Southern California, operated by Chevron, Valero and others.

In the Korean-language Netflix megahit “Squid Game,” debt-ridden people take part in a deadly competition — lying, cheating and killing one another for a life-changing pot of money.

How is the streamer promoting the second season of such an anti-capitalist show? By selling merchandise, of course.

Retailers and brands including Puma, Johnnie Walker and shoe-maker Crocs are hoping that interest in the show will drive sales of products based on the ultraviolent dystopian series.

On Wednesday, Puma announced a line of green tracksuits similar to the ones the characters wear onscreen, along with sneakers and other apparel inspired by the series. The German clothing retailer created the actual costumes for the show.

“We saw an opportunity for us to be more than just a partner of creating consumer products, being able to also be in the show and be part of this cultural moment,” said Puma spokesman Alberto Turincio. “Everyone knows what ‘Squid Game’ is. The fandom was just insane.”

Puma is just one of several global retailers and brands that are partnering with Netflix on merchandise inspired by its shows and movies.

For example, spirit maker Johnnie Walker created a “Squid Game” special-edition whisky, which features a teal label and “Squid Game” inspired cocktails including “The 456” which incorporates flavor form bori-cha, tea often served with Korean food.

Previously, Netflix has worked with outside companies to create “Bridgerton” bread mixes and “Stranger Things”-themed Scoops Ahoy ice cream. For Netflix, the products are a way of keeping fans engaged with their favorite programs and driving excitement.

Puma “Squid Game” tracksuit, sneakers and backpack. Puma “Squid Game” sneakers. Puma “Squid Game” backpack. (Netflix)

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“The stories that are on Netflix end up becoming these cultural moments, and so I think people are excited to go along with us on that journey,” said Josh Simon, Netflix’s vice president of consumer products. “When they love it, they want to live it.”

Retail and consumer products are a growing business for Netflix. The company is hoping that selling T-shirts, booze and other items inspired by its programming will boost awareness for its programs while also providing additional revenue. Netflix has launched pop-up stores and restaurants to promote its shows and movies. It has created live events, including music performances, for similar purposes. Netflix said it has launched 40 unique attractions across 100 cities globally, reaching more than 7.5 million consumers.

Next year, the company will open permanent retail centers, called Netflix House, inside former department store locations in Texas and Pennsylvania that combine all those elements — food, merchandise and experiences based on Netflix programs. The company could eventually have 50 or 60 Netflix House locations globally, Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos said at the WSJ Tech Live conference in October.

The popularity of “Stranger Things” helped kick-start Netflix’s consumer products business as brands began reaching out to work with the company. In 2019, Netflix started its consumer products division and in 2021 launched a retail website. Over time, Netflix expanded its partnerships with more brands and hosted popular live events, including balls inspired by “Bridgerton.” It’s a playbook that was pioneered by Walt Disney Co. and copied by numerous others. Disney has a giant consumer products licensing business and at one time had hundreds of retail stores at malls across the country.

But unlike studios such as Disney, Netflix doesn’t have a large catalog of storied characters like Mickey Mouse, Woody from “Toy Story” and Elsa from “Frozen.” Also, Netflix’s most popular shows tend to be more adult-centric, and thus less obviously useful for retailers targeting children than Disney’s cartoons and Universal’s ubiquitous Minions.

But the streamer says the popularity of its adult-oriented programming is an advantage, because its viewers have disposable income and are willing to spend.

Netflix has a global audience of hundreds of millions of people, and its most popular shows have spurred shopping trends on their own. Fans have bought tracksuits to dress as “Squid Game” characters for Halloween or chess sets due to the fandom around “The Queen’s Gambit.”

Characters wear green tracksuits in Season 2 of “Squid Game.”

(No Ju-han / Netflix)

“We’ve earned a little bit of goodwill to place bets on newer movies and TV shows, just because the fandom can catch up pretty quickly,” Simon said.

Retailers have already seen success with Netflix-related products. Bath & Body Works sold “Bridgerton”-themed fragrance collections such as “Diamond of the Season” starting in March, with lotions, soaps and candles. Over the launch period, the “Bridgerton”-themed products represented 4% of Bath & Body Works’ U.S. store sales, the retailer said.

The brands fit really well together, and the “Bridgerton” products brought in new shoppers, said Betsy Schumacher, the retailer’s chief merchandising officer.

“It had this immediate attraction to our customers and drove traffic and excitement in our stores,” she said.

“Bridgerton” was one of the shows touted at a meeting with brands last month. There are “Bridgerton”-inspired wedding dresses, $70 teapots at Williams Sonoma and $65 dog jackets.

“We’ve done a lot, but we won’t pause here,” Elena Vrska, who works in consumer products marketing at Netflix, said during a presentation.

“Squid Game” Season 2 represents a major opportunity for Netflix and its brand partners. The first season was the most watched Netflix show ever, with more than 330 million views to date. This month, Netflix will launch marketing campaigns showcasing the iconic green tracksuits from “Squid Game,” including a 4.56K run (a reference to Player 456, the show’s main character) during the “Squid Game” season 2 premiere in Los Angeles next week.

“We are expecting to sweep the world with green tracksuits,” Joyce Salaver, who works in brand strategy in consumer products for Netflix, said in a presentation to brands last month. “We will create a massive cultural moment that only Netflix can do.”

Netflix’s deals with brands can vary. The streamer in some cases receives a licensing fee or a percentage of sales with minimum revenue guarantees.

Bath & Body Works’ Danbury shortbread “Bridgerton” collection.

(Netflix)

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Larry Vincent, a USC Marshall School of Business marketing professor, said the licensees take on more risk generally than licensors such as Netflix.

“The real benefit of it is the exposure and the marketing value of more consumers and audiences aware that a program is active right now,” Vincent said. “You can think of these licensed merchandise extensions as just another marketing execution.”

In addition to working with brands, Netflix has its own in-house product development and creative teams that help with the products.

Matt Owens, co-showrunner and an executive producer of Netflix’s “One Piece,” said that when he was a kid, having action figures of movies and TV shows inspired him to reenact scenes and make up his own stories, which is how he started as a storyteller. Now, he’s working with Netflix on merch for his own live action series, based on the popular coming-of-age manga. One of the ideas he was involved with was “One Piece” trading cards based on the live action series that could be used in the “One Piece” card game. Owens said he has talked with brands regarding potential merchandise for Season 2 of the show but declined to name them.

Merch is “like a badge of honor” for fans, Owens said.

“It’s the same thing as wearing a jersey of a sports team,” Owens said. “It just adds that feeling that there are other fans all over the place.”