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Quest Means Business

Airbus Is Cutting 15,000 Jobs; European Union Authorizes Travel From 15 Nations, U.S. Excluded; Facebook Loses More Advertisers; China Strongly Concerned By India App Ban; Microsoft Wants To Teach Digital Skills For COVID Economy; Citroen Debuts New Compact Electric Car In France. Aired 3- 4p ET

Aired June 30, 2020 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Before I say goodbye to all of you, just a quick programming note.

With many traditional Fourth of July events cancelled across the country, CNN is hosting a star-studded, The Fourth: An America Special, so of

course, do not miss these two amazing humans, Don Lemon and Dana Bash hosting that.

So, I am Brooke Baldwin.

[15:00:18]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We will not miss that indeed. Brooke Baldwin, many thanks, I appreciate that.

Now, we have one hour still to go of trading on Wall Street before the day comes to an end, the quarter comes to an end, the half year comes to an

end.

And as you can see, all over the shop today. That is exactly the mood of the market. Can't decide which way to go. Those are the markets, and these

are the reasons why.

Airbus is cutting 15,000 jobs. The Chief Executive says he had to act to save the company.

Jerome Powell says the economy is entering a new phase as doctors are warning up to 100,000 daily new cases -- 100,000 every day.

And Microsoft is planning for a post pandemic future. The President of Microsoft here to talk to us at length today, Brad Smith will be with us in

this hour.

I'm Richard Quest live from New York on Tuesday, June the 30th, end of the first half. It may be the end of the first half, but I still mean business.

Good evening. According to the head of Airbus, the company is facing its gravest crisis ever and is to slash 15,000 jobs. The job losses

geographically will be predominantly in France and in Germany, but the U.K. will also be hit, as indeed will be Spain.

Airbus is predicting the future of air travel won't recover until about three, possibly up to five years. Anna Stewart is in London looking at the

announcement from Airbus.

They say they have already started the talks with -- as they put it -- their various social partners. But they want the beginning of the jobs by

the end of this year, and it's all over by the middle of next.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, in one year, over 10 percent of their work force will be cut. We knew this restructure was coming. Very early on this

this pandemic, Airbus were quick to slash production. The CEO told us they were burning through cash.

We knew that they burned through $9 billion just in the first quarter. Perhaps, the restructure took a bit longer than many expected. Thousands of

the employees have been on government furlough schemes across Europe, but of course, those won't last forever.

And I think the statement we see today is a real recognition of how much the outlook changed for the whole industry. And as you said there, it won't

go back to normal they say until at least, 2023, possibly not until late 2025. Here's what the CEO said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUILLAUME FAURY, CEO, AIRBUS: This is of course a matter of deep regret and something that as a management team, we would have preferred to avoid.

However, it's our duty to face reality as it stands.

We do not take this step lightly, but we have come to the conclusion that we must act now to safeguard Airbus and protect its future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: They say they are going the try and reduce the number of layoffs as much as they can through voluntary departures, early retirement and long

term partial employment programs, Richard, but of course this is terrible news for thousands of people across Europe.

QUEST: Two aspects of the press release that caught my eye. Commercial aircraft business activity has dropped by close to 40 percent in recent

months, probably more if you take just the COVID period.

And we do not -- air traffic is not expected to recover to pre-COVID levels before 2023 and possibly as late as 2025. So, I mean there is no way around

this, is there?

The airlines that have bought the planes don't want them anymore, and yet some are going to have to take them because they have ordered them.

STEWART: Well, some will, but some will go bust, and we are seeing, of course job cuts across the board from all sorts of airlines. Here in the

U.K., there have already been 22,500 jobs announced cut, and actually a new report from the New Economics Foundation said without further government

intervention in the U.K., that could go up to 124,000 job cuts. Just in the U.K., just in aviation.

So, Airbus has to take all this into account and look into their future. And their order book in many ways is a work of fiction because although

those orders are already coming off the books, plenty more will probably come in the quarters ahead -- Richard.

[15:05:00]

QUEST: Anna Stewart. Anna, thank you. And these announcement from Airbus come just as the planes are starting to fill up in Europe as the continent

reopens just in time perhaps for the summer holiday or at least to rescue some of the summer travel business.

Europe has now put out its list of countries that will be able to travel to Europe or to the E.U., not surprisingly, the United States is not on that

list.

No one should be surprised why the E.U. has banned the United States. Just listen to how the U.S.'s own experts describe the current situation with

COVID.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We are now having 40,000 plus new case as day. I would not be

surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: On that basis, even at the moment, the U.S. is nowhere near meeting the criteria necessary to getting E.U. approval.

China does meet the criteria, however the E.U. says it will only grant China visiting access if it receives reciprocity, in other words, Europeans

can go to China, which they can't, at the moment.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Brussels for us.

I was -- I mean, the majority of the countries involved on the list didn't cause some surprise, except you do have these traditional colonial hold

back, Morocco, Tunisia -- some of those countries, one is surprised to see.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, Richard, I think some of them you are quite surprised to see because of

course a lot of them are nowhere near as wealthy as the United States and certainly, their healthcare systems are nowhere near as well funded as the

one in the United States.

And clearly, the European Union believes that these countries have done a more efficient and a better job of dealing with the coronavirus crisis than

the U.S. has.

And of course, one of the things, Richard that we always have to keep in mind is that, the European Union countries really want to have Americans

come back here. Americans every year spend billions of dollars in the various European capitals as tourists, of course, buying a lot of thing

there.

And so, they are doing this because they believe that a further lockdown, that allowing Americans in here could be dangerous to public health here in

the European Union despite the fact that it really hurts them economically.

Here's what we are learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice over): Emptiness and fear on the streets of Rome, one of Europe's most beautiful cities. While the E.U. is opening up for travel

after most states have contained the coronavirus pandemic, American tourists won't be back any time soon.

Restaurant owner, Mauro Pizutti says that's another significant dent in his already meager earnings.

"We are very concerned," he says. "We live off of this. I wouldn't know if it's right or wrong, but I would have preferred for the borders to be

opened because we are on the ropes."

It is not just Italy. France is one of the most popular destinations for American tourists in Europe. According to the country's tourism authority,

around 4.5 million Americans came here in 2018 spending almost $4 billion in France, much of it in Paris, the head of the city's tourism authority

tells CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORINNE MENEGAUX, GENERAL DIRECTOR, PARIS TOURISM BOARD: American -- the U.S. is very important for Paris in terms of tourism. American people spend

about $2 billion, actually, so that's a huge loss for Paris for the moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (voice over): But the E.U. has decided to continue to ban U.S. citizens from coming to the European Union excluding the United States from

a list of nations from which the E.U. will allow travelers back in.

As the Trump administration struggles with skyrocketing cases of coronavirus in parts of the United States, while the President rejects

public health measures like wearing a mask.

PLEITGEN (on camera): While the E.U. is keen to jump start its ailing tourism sector, officials both here in Brussels and in the member states

say the continent needs to be careful while opening up. The last thing they Europe needs is another spike in coronavirus infections and possibly

another lockdown.

PLEITGEN (voice over): European Union officials have long been saying they will place public health above economic motivations when bringing their

economies back up to speed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YLVA JOHANSSON, HOME AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The most important thing is the protection of public health. It is the most

important priority for the E.U. and its member states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (voice over): And that means, as Rome's streets start filling with travelers once again, restaurant managers like Mauro Pizutti will have to

wait until the U.S. gets the pandemic under control for Americans to return.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And Richard, the European officials look at these border restrictions every two weeks, about 14 days from now. They are going to

obviously be revisiting these decisions again, but looking at the current trajectory of the coronavirus in the United States, it certainly seems as

though it is a long shot that at that point in time, Americans will be allowed back here into the territory of the European Union -- Richard.

QUEST: Fred, thank you. Fred Pleitgen with the report out of Brussels.

[15:10:10]

QUEST: Even domestic tourism in the United States now appears to be in deep trouble for the 2020 holiday season.

Florida has shut some of its most popular beaches for the summer's biggest weekend so far, July the 4th coming up.

Bars are also being closed statewide. Arizona and Texas have closed bars. They want to avoid the sort of crowds like this. Even the Governor admits

that the bars were opened too soon and people have behaved too irresponsibly in visiting them.

They are all trying now to force themselves backtracking onto previous time line.

Steve Kaufer is the President and CEO of Tripadvisor with me from Newton in Massachusetts. Steve, good to see you. Let's deal first of all with -- this

is -- this is the moment when the U.S. has hoped to start significant tourism. Is clearly unable to do so, whilst in Europe, we are seeing it

really is getting off to a cracking start.

STEVE KAUFER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, TRIPADVISOR: That's quite true. We really missed a great opportunity. We had the terrible events come around in the

northeast where I live, huge infection rates that we managed to get under control only to find surges appearing in southern and southwestern states.

It's a real shame because I think, at least, this part of the country could have been a great lesson and still can be a great lesson for how to control

this coronavirus through relatively straightforward mechanisms -- mask wearing, social distancing, stay outdoors for goodness sake.

QUEST: And on this Tripadvisor, which I don't gratuitously offer praise very often, but I do find I never go and stay in a place or go somewhere

without at least checking with Tripadvisor first.

Trip advisor is now putting in place this safety, how to travel safe will help people. But I wonder whether this will just be a statement of the

obvious, that you are going to end up with hotels just telling everybody they've cleaned the beds and they've disinfected the bathrooms?

KAUFER: No, no. I mean, the great news from our perspective is that two thirds of the people we survey are ready to get out and travel again in the

U.S. They want to go somewhere. They are dreaming about travel even in the midst of a pandemic. That's fabulous.

They are thinking -- 60 percent are saying we would love to do a three to five-day road trip somewhere. It is not an international trip. It may not

be an on airplane yet. But they are still keen to get out.

And then what they say, very clearly, nine out of ten say, they want to know where they are going is safe. They care about the safety. So what we

have asked hotels and restaurants to do is to upload the detailed information about what they are doing to keep their clienteles safe.

If they are cleaning the rooms every night and allowing three hours in between guests. What are they doing in the lobby? Is there still a

breakfast buffet?

All of the different thing that are going to be different from hotel to hotel are now published on our site. We already have tens of thousands of

bits of info and more is growing.

QUEST: I think -- we have a difficult connection to you, but it is worth sticking with it because I wanted to ask you, with that in mind, I think

that one of the most important parts of this will be travelers' comments and user-generated content that basically holds these establishments to

account as to whether they are delivering that which they are promising.

KAUFER: Excellent point. So, as all of these establishments are posting information on our site -- we are the world's largest travel site. We have

the most traffic. More people than ever before are coming to us for guidance and they are looking for the safety info.

So we have added a question in our review forms that is asking about the safety establishments, the safety things that each of these establishments

have done.

And so it is up to our users to actually report on whether the businesses are making good on their promises.

QUEST: Steve, it's going to be a long summer. Let's check in again a few times so we can get an idea of what you are discovering happening, the way

travel both domestically and internationally is going on. We would love to have you back to talk more about it. Thank you, sir.

KAUFER: Thank you.

QUEST: Steve Kaufer of Tripadvisor joining me.

Now, Steve Mnuchin and Jerome Powell are back on Capitol Hill giving perhaps a more upbeat assessment at least from the Fed Chair on the current

situation.

The clock is ticking for small businesses to apply for any remaining PPP money they need. There is more than a billion this time that hasn't been

spent. In a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:53]

QUEST: America's two top economic policymakers were on Capitol Hill today. They were Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, of course, and the Chair

of the Fed, Jerome Powell. They were questioned by lawmakers on the effectiveness of pandemic aid.

Interesting look there. There is Powell with a mask and a prospect's cover in front of him. Steve Mnuchin has decided the mask is not necessary.

Powell, arguably in the stronger position says the economy and the economic recovery is fragile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: the economy entered an important new phase and done so sooner than expected. While this bounce

back in the economic activity is welcome. It also presents new challenges, notably the need to keep the virus in check.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Phil Mattingly is with us from Washington. So the PPP is coming to an end. That's the protection plan for small businesses and job creation.

Now that's coming to an end and there's actually a good chunk of change, more than a hundred billion that is still in that that wasn't used up.

But there are still fears over things like what will happen for long term unemployment. So the congressmen and lawmakers still have to make some

crucial decisions.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN U.S. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, there is no question about it. I think when you talk to lawmakers, they acknowledge

when you pump more than $2 trillion into the U.S. economy as they did back in March, it is going to take some time to see how that filters out.

Obviously, the wild card here, the thing that remains most fluid is what is actually going to happen with this virus over the course of the weeks and

months ahead.

But there is a reality here that lawmakers know they need to do more, right? Even though there is money left over for the Paycheck Protection

Program, that $130 billion, lawmakers agree needs to be repurposed.

There are longer term issues the small businesses are facing right now. There are issues at states and localities are facing with in terms of their

budgets, the holes that they are facing. More needs to be done.

I think the real question right now, lawmakers are trying to figure it out. You saw it today with a lot of their questions to the Treasury Secretary

and to the Fed Chairman. They were with intent. They were trying to get the administration officials or the Central Bank head to kind of get on their

side with the negotiations that are going to take place over the course of the next several weeks -- Richard.

[15:20:12]

QUEST: So, one curious thing. I noticed the Fed Chair wearing a mask. The Treasury Secretary not wearing a mask. What is the norm now? What do most

people tend to do when giving testimony?

MATTINGLY: You know, it was interesting, for this committee in particular, the chairwoman, Maxine Waters, Democrat from California made clear at the

beginning of the hearing she wanted and expected everybody to wear masks.

On the House side of the U.S. Congress, that has been the expectation from House Democrats. Now, at various points, the Treasury Secretary did not

have his mask on, but they put kind of a Plexiglas thing in front of him that allowed him to speak, to kind of cover him as well.

It depends what party you are in, which committee you are in, but I think the reality is right now, everybody is starting to grasp, even those who

are maybe wary of doing it in the first place, masks work, masks matter and people need to wear their masks right now on Capitol Hill.

QUEST: Phil, good to have you, sir. Thank you. Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill.

What's become clear, I hope so far is the way in which Central Banks have played a central role in the whole recovery process, keeping economies

alive during the worst days of the pandemic.

Now, a new report from the Bank of International Settlements, which is like the central bankers organization says that they have reacted promptly to

the crisis.

I spoke to the BIS General Manager, the former head of the Central Bank of Mexico, Agustin Carstens and looking at what's being done, but what still

needs to be done, I asked Agustin whether the Central Banks were now running out of tools in the tool box.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AGUSTIN CARSTENS, FORMER HEAD OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF MEXICO: Basically, they can get mileage out of the tool kit, and as a of fact, I think one of

the key aspects of this episode and the way Central Banks have responded is that they have been very innovative and very imaginative in the way they

are using their tool box.

They started new programs, and those programs still have a long way to go. I think the key aspects is that they have managed to go to some markets

where traditionally they have been going into, like for example, in the case of the U.S., going into a corporate debt and also facilitating

financing for households and also for corporates.

Those programs are still young and they still can grow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: You can hear a more detailed interview with Agustin on tomorrow's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Now, Facebook has lost more advertisers. Microsoft is now joining the list. Microsoft says it stopped buying ads back in May over concerns of brand

safety as part of the Stop Hate For Profit movement.

Wherever you look, it seems the news du jure, Microsoft is in some way connected to it, even if not directly involved. Microsoft is truly a

company for our times. Like today, ditching Facebook, Microsoft was the third largest ad buyer in 2019.

Microsoft has recently ditched its bricks and mortar, closing 83 stores, including some relatively new and expensive ones like if London, the

pandemic forcing online only.

And on the immigration ban, Microsoft has been forefront there. President Brad Smith said this is when we need immigrants most.

If we look at the working from home revolution, Skype, Microsoft Teams have all become critical to the way we do work and as for the Cloud, I need say

no more.

Brad Smith is with me, Microsoft President who is in Seattle who is launching a digital initiative to increase digital skills for a new COVID-

19 economy.

Brad, as always, it is excellent to see you. We have good time with us today. We have allowed plenty of time for us to talk to you and cover much

ground. So let's just do the news du jour, if you like.

The Facebook boycotts, diversion away, whatever you want to call it -- what is it you and companies like Microsoft -- what is it you want from Facebook

that hasn't happened yet with all of the things that Zuckerberg said?

BRAD SMITH, PRESIDENT, MICROSOFT: First of all, Richard, as always, it is good to be with you. Look, starting with that, we have engaged in a direct

dialogue with Facebook. We started doing that in May, and we have had some similar conversations with other media platforms and technology media

platforms in the past. So our conversation predated these most recent events.

[15:25:06]

SMITH: Look, we live in a world where, you know, all the best and on some days the worst of humanity is on display on technology platforms --

everybody's technology platforms.

Naturally, as an advertiser, we would like to see our ads displayed next to the best of humanity and not the worst of it. So, we are having the kind of

dialogue with Facebook over these months as we have had with other companies in the past.

I would step back from the specifics of that and just recognize this is a challenging time, not just for what people express on social media, but the

cyberattacks on social media and technology, disinformation, misinformation. We all need to do more. We all are striving to do more to

address that.

QUEST: Within this sphere, I guess, you know, we are all realists and pragmatists. You obviously are not going to abandon Facebook permanently.

And I just wonder, in your view what does the sort of safeguards -- whether it be Facebook or Twitch or Redditt or Twitter -- what sort of safeguards

without destroying First Amendment, the right to be unpleasant online -- how do you balance that?

SMITH: Well, I'll leave to Facebook the way to solve the problem. They know their technology the best.

I do think this is a time when you can use the combination of people who work as content moderators and technology itself, AI, to, among other

things, decide what kind of content one wants to display, where one wants to display it and what ads one wants to put next to it.

QUEST: Right.

SMITH: We have found in the past, and I am sure will again, people are addressing these issues. We're hopeful that we will see more progress.

QUEST: Let's turn to the way in which Microsoft has been catapulted forward. For instance, Microsoft Teams, the number that's gone on there.

Skype, which of course -- but I do sometimes wonder whether you have lost out with Skype to Zoom.

I was talking to a colleague. When I started doing vid calls however many years ago, Skype was the norm, Skype was the only game in town. But how did

you sort of cede ground to Zoom?

SMITH: Well, what we have really done is transition from Skype to Teams. And what we have strived with Teams is to make it not just a great tool for

video conferencing as important as that is, but also a great teal for collaboration.

If you think about the needs that people have, if they are working from home or studying from home, it is not just to see each other on a screen

and talk to each other. It's to work together. It's to chat, it's to make progress, it's to collaborate. It is frankly to do all the things that you

do when you are in the same room.

And that is what we have done with teams. I am optimistic, it will, I think, over time, become the new norm because it will knit together all of

the productivity tools that people are looking for.

QUEST: Which of course is why you are offering it free, and I wonder whether this actually speaks to Microsoft's DNA, if you know what I mean.

Look, you know, Apple was always seen as the cool kids. Whereas, actually, Microsoft through Word, Excel, and Office and all of those things was

always the bit that got on with business.

And I am wondering how far that is in your mind as you direct the resources to Azure, to Cloud, and to Teams.

SMITH: Well, you know, I think you've capture it really well, Richard. We don't strive to be the cool kids. Look -- I am not dressed as one of the

cool kids with you today.

We tell people who are thinking about where they want to work is if they want to be cool, we can give them a list of other companies. If they want

to make other people cool, come to work at Microsoft. Because that's what we are -- we are empowering other people.

QUEST: Look, I am sitting here in a suit. I can hardly disagree with you. Stay with me. After the break, after the news headlines, we are going to

talk about what I think is probably crucial, which is the re-skilling for a digital economy at a time of greater job losses. You have kindly agreed to

stay with us for that. We will have it after the break.

SMITH: Absolutely.

QUEST: It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live from New York, as always. Well, you need to know what's going on, we will have it for you, in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:02]

QUEST: Hello. I'm Richard Quest. A lot more QUEST BUSINESS in just a moment. The CEO Citroen will be with us. Launching a new car in the midst

of a pandemic. Some would say that's brave. Others might call it well, reckless. He'll explain why in a moment.

And the E.U. is banning Pakistan airlines for six months after reports -- admitted reports that pilots there have dubious unauthorized licenses.

We'll explain that. As always, it'll all follow an update of the news headlines because this is CNN. And on this network, the news always comes

first.

America's top epidemiologist has told us lawmakers that new cases of COVID- 19 could rise to 100,000 a day if the country doesn't change. Dr. Anthony Fauci says his concern arrives -- arises from the images of Americans

gathering in crowds and not wearing masks.

Joe Biden is slamming President Trump over his response to the coronavirus pandemic. The presumptive Democratic nominee says Mr. Trump, who calls

himself a wartime president has surrendered and left the battlefield against the virus. In recent polls, Mr. Biden is way ahead nationally and

also leading in key swing states.

China's as it's strongly concerned by India's decision to ban dozens of Chinese apps, including TikTok. The move came as tensions between the two

countries grow over deadly clashes at the border in the Himalayas. TikTok has been downloaded more than half a billion times in India.

Long-term lasting unemployment will be one of the long tails of COVID 19. Microsoft wants to teach gentle digital skills to those who find themselves

out of work or need retraining.

[15:35:02]

QUEST: And to do so, it plans to identify the skills needed, provide free access to training and help new candidates find jobs. Brad Smith is the

president of Microsoft, he's still with me. How you going to do this? It's a laudable goal but I wonder how you do it.

BRAD SMITH, PRESIDENT, MICROSOFT: Well, Richard, we believe we can reach 25 million people around the world by the end of the year. And that's what

we're focused on doing. We have tremendous assets as a company, it really starts with LinkedIn. That's the heart and soul of this effort. Includes

the LinkedIn economic graph that gives us data on jobs and skills needed for them.

But we're providing free learning content, low cost subsidized tests, where people can get certified with digital skills, free access to job seeking

tools to help find jobs. You put it all together, it is -- we think something that can make a meaningful difference in helping people address a

critical problem, namely, the need to acquire increasingly new digital skills go back to work.

QUEST: Right. I guess the call phrase that you just said there is meaningful difference. And, you know, there's no shortage of people or ways

and get rich quick schemes, not that I'm suggesting for a second, this is anything like that. But I am saying, how do you take somebody who has found

themselves out of work? Believes they -- I mean, they're not going to turn into an overnight computer programmer, but what skills can they pick up

that will better equip them in the marketplace?

SMITH: Well, it's interesting. Think of this. we identified the 10 jobs that we think are going to most be in demand. It includes things like a

sales representative, a customer service representative, there are lots of people from that background. Now the jobs that are going to be filled

especially in an economy where more things happen remotely will involve more digital skills than those jobs involve, say, six months or a year ago.

So this is where I think we can work with people who start with a base of skills already, and then supplement that with their opportunity to learn

more and then certify to employers that they have passed the tests. And thereby show that they have the skills needed.

QUEST: You're putting -- you're putting heft behind this, aren't you? I mean, you're going to put resources, time, effort, and money behind it.

SMITH: We are making this a priority for technology innovation. You see that with what we're bringing today, not only with LinkedIn learning, but

there's even A.I.-based tools so somebody can practice interviewing, for example, and get feedback. We announced today we will have a new app in

Microsoft teams this fall. So employers can provide faster, cheaper, more effective training to employees as part of their workflow.

But the other piece I think your right to point to here requires partnerships. We're putting heft behind that as well.

QUEST: Brad, we'll talk more if we may as we come towards the end of the summer, please come back. And we're going to need to understand exactly how

economics and economies are moving. And I'd be grateful if you -- if you'd make a return visit before the summer's out.

SMITH: I'd be happy to. Always good to be with you, Richard. Thank you.

QUEST: Brad Smith. Thank you. Brad Smith of Microsoft there. Citroen's lifting the curtain on a brand new car. Now we may arguably say why do we

need another compact car? Well, the CEO is here from Paris after the break. Grateful to have you with us tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:19]

QUEST: It's reassuring to see that companies are moving forward with their various investment and capital expenditure plans and not letting the grass

grow. Citroen isn't letting the pandemic pull the brakes. The French automaker has unveiled two versions of the C4, the hatchback on Tuesday,

including an all-electric model that will go on sale in Q4. Citroen's looking to solidify its place in the compact car market.

Vince Cobee is the CEO of Citroen. He joins me from Paris via Skype. Obviously, so much work. So, thank you for joining us. So much work had

been done on this car prior to COVID, but it still takes a leap of faith to go forth with a launch and to such difficult economic circumstances. Why

did you do it?

VINCENT COBEE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CITROEN (via Skype): You know, it's more than a leap of faith. It's a lot of agility as well, because maybe you

attend the unveiling we've done, we donate on a digital platform inviting more than 8000 people all of this was organized during lockdown, the --

filming the movies, the core testing, all of this was done under lockdown condition.

And due (INAUDIBLE) you know, we turned a challenge into an opportunity because as you say, you developing your car is five years of work. And the

fact that the last four months have been hectic was, you know, another bump in the road, but we didn't want to make that a slowdown.

QUEST: You -- the way in which you've structured this particular car with the various -- with the various types, one that's a 100 percent electric,

three types of efficient, 100 percent petrol or diesel. As we move away from fossil fuels. How far does this strategy? How far is it borne out by

offering three distinct hundred percent versions of it?

COBEE: You know, I think it's fair to say that we are in the middle of a transition. There is huge appetite out there for clean mobility for either

full electric or plug in hybrid transport solution. That's the fact. Now, is this offer fully developed, fully acceptable, is every customer wanting

to buy into it at this point in time?

QUEST: Right.

COBEE: Not yet. One of the position we took is to say we're not going to make people choose a call based on the source of energy. We're going to

offer a choice. Think of the choice of energy. And then a company transition.

QUEST: Yes. So, if we look at the French automobile industry at the moment, the help given from the government, the confusion over there now and Nissan

and its Japanese partners. The uncertainty with Peugeot, do you need -- I mean, President Macron has said more help will be given. Do you need more

help from the government?

COBEE: I think a similar part to your question. The Persian route of which Citroen is one of the leading brands did not ask for financial help during

the crisis. And I think we're quite confident that our business performance, our management ethic, our technology capability will give us

an opportunity to navigate and even strengthen our sense through history. Now, introducing low emission vehicles, even battery electric vehicles or

plug in hybrid is a transition.

[15:45:05]

COBEE: And we know that many questions need to be answered and one of them is virtual circle of, you know, bigger volume given better cost and the low

emission vehicles being an equivalent cost of a traditional fossil fuel vehicles. So from this hybrid is welcome. Subsidizing (INAUDIBLE) of low

energy or low emission vehicles and the charging infrastructure (INAUDIBLE)

QUEST: Grateful to have you with us. I appreciate it. Thank you. We'll talk more. Thank you very much. In a moment, the law has now been passed. And

for the first time, people are getting to see exactly what it is. Well, Hong Kong after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: European Union has suspended Pakistan airlines for at least six months in response to the fake pilot's licenses scandal. The Pakistani

government has now admitted that 262 pilots in the country have forged or dubious licenses. PIA, the national carrier has granted nearly a third of

its pilots after the report. The U.S. says it's not satisfied. Two deadly plane crashes in the last four years from PIA.

And the most recent of course last month in Karachi where 98 people were killed. Peter Goelz is the CNN's aviation analysts, former Managing

Director of the NTSB. Once one has got over the open jaw, god smacked reaction to I cannot believe that pilots were able to forge or fudge their

licenses. Well, what are you left with that, Peter?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: This is extraordinary, Richard. As, you know, I mean -- I, you know, PIA had a fairly decent reputation some years

ago, but to have 262 pilots forge their credentials and get away with it is just extraordinary. And, you know, the details of the crash in Karachi last

month are dreadful. It appears as though the pilots did not put down their landing gear during their first approach. I mean, just dreadful.

QUEST: So, from our understanding, you know, it's not like they were photoshopped or letrasetted. These pilots either paid somebody else to do

the test or they bribe to get them. What do we make of that?

[15:50:07]

GOELZ: Well, what it shows is that there is a fundamental flaw in the culture of this airline that, you know, you try to develop a culture of

safety, a culture of commitment to excellence, particularly when it comes to being able to command your aircraft. And this air carrier has allowed a

culture to infect the very core of its -- of its being, and I don't think it's going to come back in six months, I think it's going to be a long time

until we see PIA back in the air.

QUEST: With that in mind, PIA being off limits, if you like, I wonder what the airline itself has to do along with the government to make sure that it

is available in the future, that it does get back to some sort of safety.

GOELZ: Well, I mean, some airlines have addressed these kinds of problems in the past. Korean airlines had a terrible culture of safety and numerous

accidents 10 or 15 years ago. PIA is going to have to bring in a team of outside experts, people who are respected in the field, and they're going

to have to give them a blank check and complete authority to restructure their safety culture, to restructure their flight operations, and to look

at their training procedures to make sure that they have qualified, committed pilots at controls.

QUEST: Peter, good to see you, sir. Thank you. Peter Goelz joining us from Washington. Finally, tonight to Hong Kong, where the new security law has

passed unanimously through the Beijing people's Congress. New laws that nobody really knows what they are, but are going to have a dramatic effect

on the life of Hong Kong. CNN's Will Ripley is in Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: July 1st is a public holiday in Hong Kong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, Hong Kong people to run the Hong Kong.

RIPLEY: The anniversary of the 1997 handover from British to Chinese rule. Last year, the day descended into chaos, protesters storming and occupying

Hong Kong's legislative complex. Beijing promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years under one country two systems. Pro-democracy

protesters accused China of going back on that deal taking away their freedoms.

Beijing's response to months of unrest, a sweeping national security law drafted and imposed by China's ruling body, bypassing Hong Kong's

government. Beijing says the law is necessary to contain the protests, part of what it calls a foreign plot to destabilize the mainland by turning Hong

Kong into a chess piece external powers can use to contain China.

SIMON LEE, SENIOR LECTURER OF BUSINESS, CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: We need to rule off game and then in the society we need rule of law.

RIPLEY: So, who's winning this game of Chinese chess right now?

LEE: Still ongoing, now the national security costs, well, high degree of uncertainty.

RIPLEY: The Trump administration is already making moves in response to the law, planning to strip away the special trade relationship between the U.S.

and Hong Kong. This week, the U.S. announced restrictions on defense and dual use technology exports. The E.U. has also warned of negative

consequences for the global financial hub. Trillions of dollars flow through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, among the largest in the world.

Analysts say any disruption could rattle an already shaky global economy. But a growing list of corporations have voiced support for the new law,

along with some prominent Hong Kong business owners.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have that system; we have our own system. OK? Let's work together.

RIPLEY: Pro-Beijing lawmaker and clothing chain founder Michael Chan says the law could revive Hong Kong's struggling retail and hospitality sectors.

When you see big companies saying that there's -- that they support the law.

GORDON LAM, RESTAURANT OWNER: Actually, they just (INAUDIBLE) have money.

RIPLEY: You think they're just trying to --

(CROSSTALK)

LAM: Just because of money on the peak.

RIPLEY: Pro-democracy restaurant owner Gordon Lam says it's about more than money.

Hong Kong's core business value is freedom of expression and freedom to conduct business. He says, if we don't have this, Hong Kong is no longer

Hong Kong. Last year's graffiti, replaced by this year's billboards, ads all over the city promising the new law will restore stability. The

question at what cost? Will Ripley CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:04]

QUEST: Look at the markets before we love you and leave here tonight. And a bit of a late rally. Well, it surely will. As I say I am wrong, not a bit

of a late rally, a heck of a late rally. And there's no obvious reason in the last 25 minutes why the market has taken off like a rocket. But there

you have it. And we've got about five minutes left of trade. And we're coming to the end of a quarter. We're coming to the half end of the year.

And the market is pretty close to where it was at the beginning of the year. So NASDAQ is of course showing all-time highs. And that's where we

are overall. The NASDAQ is over 10,000. And now the Dow is just hovering there as the Dow 30. A quick look at the Dow 30 stocks, only two that are

down. Boeing, well, that's on its own problems. The rest are all up quite strongly. Whatever -- I'm Richard Quest. Whatever you're up to in the hours

ahead I hope it's profitable. I'll see you tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington and we begin this hour with breaking news in our health lead. An

urgent plea and a dire prediction from America's top health officials on Capitol Hill today. Dr. Anthony Fauci warning that he can envision the U.S.

hitting 100,000 new coronavirus cases every day if things don't turn around. The U.S. is already at 40,000 new cases a day.

The head of the CDC Dr. Robert Redfield imploring all Americans to unite and take the necessary personal steps to defeat the deadly pandemic

including wearing masks in public. This as the virus continues to spread out of control throughout the nation. At least 36 states are right now

seeing a spike in the number of new infections, 12 are holding steady. Only two states are seeing declining numbers.

Hospitalizations are up in nearly a quarter of the nation despite the White House insisting that the curve has been flattened. The curve has not been

flattened. Just take a look at this graph showing that the curve dropping precipitously in the European Union.

[16:00:01]

That's the number in pink, and then remaining flat in South Korea. Those are the numbers in yellow compared to the surge in the United States.

END