“Hans Vestberg steps down as president and CEO and member of the board of directors of Ericsson with immediate effect,” a statement on Ericsson's website reads.

“In the current environment and as the company accelerates its strategy execution, the board of directors has decided that the time is right for a new leader to drive the next phase in Ericsson’s development,” the statement continues. 

However, Vestberg, who served in the position for seven years, will apparently be vastly rewarded for his service to the company. Swedish media outlet Dine Penger reported that he will receive compensation of some 28 million Swedish kroner (US$3.2 million).

The first installment of 7 million kroner should be handed over to the former CEO during his six-month notice period, Swedish newspaper Norran reported.

The outlet also cited Vestberg's press officer as saying that “after the notice period he will get 21 million in severance pay, which corresponds to 18 months of salary. If he gets a new job within these 18 months, the payout could be cut to up to 50 percent.”

In July, Vestberg voiced plans to boost the company’s cost-cutting program – which already amounts to $1 billion – by nearly 50 percent, The Financial Times reported. Citing Swedish media, the outlet added that the measure could see up to 25,000 people losing their jobs. The company currently employs over 116,000 workers.

Prior to Vestberg’s ousting, two main shareholders of Ericsson – Investor AB and Industrivarden – had voiced criticism over the company’s poor performance, Reuters reported.

Sales have plunged by 11 percent in the second quarter of 2016. But it’s not just the poor financial performance of the company over the past years and months that has launched Vestberg into a negative spotlight.

The ex-top manager was also part of an anti-corruption investigation, The Financial Times reported. Vestberg additionally faced criticism over the use of private jets and the amount of his salary, paid by a company which has been struggling to stay afloat, compared to rivals such as Nokia and Huawei.

During a demonstration of its abilities, Pepper spoke in Mandarin Chinese and responded clearly to questions in the same language, and also showed off its English language capabilities.

Initially, SoftBank and its Taiwanese agent are only marketing Pepper to corporate clients, with the financial services sector a main target. No schedule has been set for Pepper's availability to retail customers in Taiwan.

"Turnover is high in Taiwan's services sector, and we are hoping that Pepper can become an immediate help to local companies," Vincent Lin, general manager of Pepper's Taiwanese agent Perobot, told reporters during the launch event on Monday.

Perobot is offering Pepper for hire at the monthly rate of 26,888 New Taiwan dollars ($836) with a minimum contract of two years. In Japan, Pepper is selling at a retail price of 198,000 yen ($1,863) but customers also have to pay extra services and insurance fees of 24,600 yen per month for a minimum period of three years.

Perobot said its target is to lease out 60 units per month by the first half of 2017.

Perobot is a wholly-owned subsidiary of key iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, commonly known as Foxconn Technology Group.

SoftBank enjoys strong ties to Taiwan as manufacturing giant Foxconn makes Pepper for the Japanese company.

Looking to the next stage of expansion, SoftBank has set up a joint venture with Foxconn and Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding to market Pepper worldwide.

While SoftBank has recently announced a deal to acquire British chip designer ARM, Pepper runs on an Intel core processor.

Data from market intelligence firm Genscape also suggested US production had increased.
Inventory at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery base rose by 1.1 million barrels in the week to 22 July.
"Supply continues to return from disruptions, refined products are severely oversupplied, crude demand is falling well short of product demand, and key product demand is decelerating," Morgan Stanley said in a note.
On Friday, data showed the amount of US oil and gas extraction points had increased for the fourth week in a row.
The slump in prices from as high as $115 per barrel in 2014 led many shale oil producers to cut the number of rigs as producing oil was no longer profitable.
But despite a decrease in American crude supplies over the past year, there are still large stocks of gasoline in the country, even as the US hits its summer driving peak.
The value of the dollar which has steadily risen over the past month has also put pressure on crude oil prices.