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Amazon

Amazon plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs

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Amazon announced on Wednesday that it will eliminate more than 18,000 employees which is a larger number than the e-commerce giant initially stated last year.

Amazon
Image Source: timesnownews.com

The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the cuts, which Amazon claimed pre-empted its scheduled announcement.

“We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted,” CEO Andy Jassy wrote in a memo to employees that the company published on its blog. “However, because one of our teammates leaked this information externally, we decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me.”

Source: cnbc.com

Tech firms are picking up from where they left off a year ago in 2023, getting ready for a prolonged economic recession. Salesforce announced on Wednesday that it would decrease its headcount by 10 percent, affecting over 7,000 employees. During the Covid global epidemic, both Amazon as well as Salesforce conceded to hiring too quickly.

Amazon particularly accepted that it had placed too many warehouse staff too quickly since customers shifted to online shopping. At the finish of the third quarter, the firm employed about 1.54 million individuals.

In November, Jassy announced that Amazon would remove positions, such as those in its physical stores, devices, and books divisions. CNBC revealed at the time that tech giant Amazon was planning to lay off approximately 10,000 employees. The figure has risen.

“Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so,” Jassy wrote. “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure; however, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful, and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles.”

Source: cnbc.com

The company intends to notify staff members who will be laid off beginning January 18, Jassy stated, mentioning that the majority of layoffs will occur in the Experience, stores, and People, and Technology (PXT) groups.

Other major tech companies, including Meta, which possesses Facebook, Instagram, as well as WhatsApp, and other businesses based on the cloud such as software firm Salesforce, have recently revealed significant layoffs.

Amazon has so far declared that it will start reducing projects such as the Echo which is better known as Alexa as well as delivery robots, that were wonderful but did not generate revenue.

Ant Group

Jack Ma’s Ant Group Wins Approval for $1.5 Billion Capital Raise

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The government-ordered makeover of the financial technology company is progressing after Chinese regulators accepted a plan by billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. to fund 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) for its consumer unit.

Ant Group
Image Source: forbes.com

A bid by billionaire Jack Ma‘s Ant Group to raise 10.5 billion yuan for its consumer division was authorized by Chinese regulators, signifying headway in the government-ordered reorganization of the financial tech firm.

According to a notice published on December 30, the Chongqing branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved the company’s intention to increase its capital to 18.5 billion yuan.

An entity held by the city of Hangzhou would hold 10% of the company’s shares after the deal, making it the second-largest shareholder behind Ant, which committed 5.25 billion yuan as part of the plan.

The deal removes a significant barrier for Ant as it works to satisfy regulatory requirements in the wake of a crackdown on its operations following the failure of its big initial public offering in 2020. Ant is still trying to receive a financial holding license that will oversee it more like a bank. Chinese officials have curbed shadow banking over the past few years to lower economic risk.

The approval is another indication that Beijing is easing its position on its enormous internet sector, which has historically been a major driver of growth as the second-largest economy in the world struggles.

Authorities granted approval for the largest group of brand-new major game releases in months last week, enabling Tencent Holdings to restock a pipeline that had been depleted by the crackdown.

After the Ant news broke and the Hang Seng Tech Index continued its uptrend to gain 3.3%, shares of Ma’s Alibaba increased by as high as 7.7%. While Baidu Inc. rose by 6%, Tencent increased by over 4%. According to Leon Qi of Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong Ltd., “we view it as a signal on Ant’s regulatory rectification wrap-up.”

Once the funding is finished, he predicted that the consumer division will be able to manage 1.1 trillion yuan in loans. Jiangsu Yuyue Medical Equipment & Supply Co. and Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. are two additional recent investors.

The consumer finance division combines Huabei and Jiebei, Ant’s two most successful online lending businesses. A previous attempt to increase capital to 30 billion yuan has been toned back and is now included in the present plan.

One of China’s bad-debt managers, Cinda Asset Management, canceled a deal to invest 6 billion yuan for a 20% interest in the market leader in consumer financing last year without providing a rationale.

Jack Ma has kept a quiet profile since Ant’s IPO was put on hold. Alibaba reaffirmed that Ma “intends to reduce and thereafter limit his direct and indirect economic interest in Ant Group over time” to a level that does not exceed 8.8%” in a filing in July.

Afeela

CES 2023: Sony and Honda reveal Afeela, their joint EV brand

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According to Sony Honda Mobility Inc., its electric vehicle will debut under the brand Afeela. This marks the newest entry in a market already packed with established players like Tesla Inc.

Afeela
Image Source: techcrunch.com

Yasuhide Mizuno, chief executive officer of Sony Honda Mobility, revealed the first prototype of the project during Sony’s CES press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The Afeela prototype was unveiled by Sony and Honda over a year after the two companies announced their intentions to jointly produce and market electric automobiles.

The four-door sedan was demonstrated on stage as Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida discussed the company’s mobility strategy, which places an emphasis on creating automobiles with autonomous features and the ability to turn into “moving entertainment spaces.”

According to the CEO of Sony, the Afeelas’ first preorders will take place during the initial half of 2025, and sales will start the following year. Buyers in North America will receive the first shipments in the spring of 2026.

The new EV will initially be produced at Honda’s North American factory and will have Level 3 automated driving features under certain restrictions, according to prior statements from Sony and Honda. In a vehicle with level 3 autonomy, the driver can still operate the vehicle in congested areas, but only when the system explicitly requests it.

The incorporation of external media on the front of the car, which enables it to communicate with other drivers and transmit critical information, was one of the new design aspects that Sony presented at the event.

The prototype is also outfitted with 45 cameras and sensors both inside and outside the car to assure security. To avoid accidents, the in-cabin sensors will keep track of the driver’s condition.

As per Yoshida, CEO of Sony, Afeela will also offer top-notch entertainment to its patrons. The Sony-Honda JV will use the 3D computer graphics game engine Unreal Engine from Epic Games in its automobiles to help envision not only entertainment in cars but also connectivity and safety.

CEO Yoshida noted, “In addition to movies, games, and music, we envision a new in-cabin experience using our expertise in UX and UI technologies.”

The Snapdragon digital chassis from Qualcomm, along with its system-on-a-chip technology, will be the foundation for Afeela cars. Through the continual inclusion of games and other improvements over the period of owning one of its vehicles, Tesla Inc. has established the benchmark for connected vehicle experiences.

Together with electronics companies’ expertise in entertainment, networking, and sensors, Sony, Honda, and numerous European manufacturers, including Volkswagen AG, are now striving to accelerate the development of intelligent electric vehicles.

According to Epic Games Chief Technology Officer Kim Libreri, the company would collaborate with Sony Honda to “deliver connected automotive experiences that lead the way not only in visual communication and safety but also entertainment.”

Google

Google to pay $9.5 million to resolve DC location tracking lawsuit

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Google has agreed to compensate 9.5 million USD as a settlement of a lawsuit filed previously this year by Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine who alleged Google of misleading users and violating their privacy. Google has also consented to modify some of its methods, majorly how well it notifies users about the collection, storage, and use of their location data.

Google
Image Source: wtop.com

“Google leads consumers to believe that consumers are in control of whether Google collects and retains information about their location and how that information is used,” the complaint, which Racine filed in January, read. “In reality, consumers who use Google products cannot prevent Google from collecting, storing and profiting from their location.”

Source: engadget.com

Racine’s office also alleged Google of using “dark patterns,” which seem to be design choices that aim to deceive users into performing actions that do not benefit them. The AG’s office stated that the company repetitively prompted users to enable location tracking options in some specific apps and notified people that such features would not operate normally unless location tracking was enabled.

Racine and his team discovered that location information was not even required for the app in discussion. They claimed that Google made it unlikely for customers to opt out of getting their location tracked.

Google received a pittance of 9.5 million USD. Last quarter, it ended up taking the firm Alphabet less than 20 minutes to generate that much earnings. Modifications to the firm’s practices as a result of the agreement may have a greater impact.

Individuals who have specific location settings enabled will receive messages explaining how to disable each setting, remove the associated data, and restrict the time Google could indeed keep that details. Users who create a new Google account will be informed as to which location-related account options are enabled by default and given the option to disable them.

It will have to keep a webpage up to date with information about its location data practices and policies. This will include methods for users to see their location settings as well as information on how each setting affects Google’s collection, preservation, or use of location information.

Furthermore, without the user’s full permission, Google will be prohibited from spreading a user’s exact location details with a third-party marketer. Within 30 days of receiving the information, the company must remove location information “which came from a device or from an IP address in both web and app activity.”

“Given the vast level of tracking and surveillance that technology companies can embed into their widely used products, it is only fair that consumers be informed of how important user data, including information about their every move, is gathered, tracked, and utilized by these companies,” Racine said in a statement. “Significantly, this resolution also provides users with the ability and choice to opt of being tracked, as well as restrict the manner in which user information may be shared with third parties.”

Source: engadget.com
twitter

Twitter reverses longstanding ban on political advertising

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Twitter, the renowned social media networking site, has officially confirmed that it will loosen up the bans on political advertisements that had been placed in 2019.

Twitter opted to lift the long-standing ban on January 3, enabling numerous political actors as well as elected representatives to resume cause-related promos. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, took over Twitter and implemented numerous policy changes.

Image Source: deccanherald.com

This decision was taken when it was revealed that the firm is already in financial trouble. In 2019, the firm chose to prohibit particular types of Politics ads, justifying that political influence must be “obtained” instead of being “bought”.

Although the social media went back on these wordings on January 3.

On the company’s Twitter Safety account, the move was announced with a tweet that read, “We believe that cause-based advertising can facilitate a public conversation around important topics. Today, we’re relaxing our ad policy for cause-based ads in the US. We also plan to expand the political advertising we permit in the coming weeks.”

Source: republicworld.com

Twitter’s advertising policy will now be aligned with the policies of television as well as other media sources, according to the company.

Making it clear that the move is still at a preliminary stage, the company wrote, “As with all policy changes, we will first ensure that our approach to reviewing and approving content protects people on Twitter. We’ll share more details as this work progresses.”

Source: republicworld.com

As reported by the New York Times, Elon Musk has previously stated that among his goals following Twitter, the takeover is to relax its rules regarding content moderation.

Twitter is going through a financial crisis currently, with reports claiming that the firm is cutting significant costs. Previously, the Tesla CEO’s approach to content moderation has startled several top brands.

Some even stopped spending on Twitter because they were concerned about their ads that they would stand alongside controversial tweets. The big brand’s decision resulted in a significant drop in the company’s revenue.

As per the New York Times, the decision to ease restrictions on political advertisements on the site has the potential to increase revenue. The action will entice numerous political actors to return to the platform, especially as various US politicians begin their campaigns for the presidential elections in 2024.

The social media platform is indeed trying to deal with numerous lawsuits, one of which reveals the firm’s financial condition. Previously this week, it was revealed that the firm is currently being sued for failing to pay its deposit for the San Francisco headquarters, highlighting the company’s difficulties.

Dark Sky

Apple officially shuts down popular iOS weather app ‘Dark Sky’

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The well-known weather application Dark Sky has been officially discontinued by Apple. The Cupertino-based tech giant bought Dark Sky in April 2020. The company removed the weather app from the App Store in September 2020, and all of its users have since been unable to use it.

Dark Sky
Image Source: newsachieve.com

Following its acquisition, Apple quickly discontinued the Wear OS and Android versions of Dark Sky and announced it would no longer accept registrations for Dark Sky’s API, which had given access to the company’s database of weather predictions and historical weather data to third-party app developers.

Later, it announced that the iOS application would be discontinued at the same time as the API service, postponing its closure only until the end of 2022.

The Weather app that comes pre-installed on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices now contains a number of Dark Sky’s features thanks to Apple’s acquisition of the company in 2020. The Dark Sky components have been incorporated into Apple Weather.

For the current location, Apple Weather offers hyperlocal forecasts, notifications, high-resolution radar, hourly weather predictions for the upcoming 10 days, and next-hour precipitation.

Precipitation, quality of air, and temperature are just a few of the overlays that are available for the maps; to switch between them, tap on the bottom button on the top-right side of the map view.

Apple boasts that several of Dark Sky’s capabilities “have been integrated into Apple Weather” in the support guide. The remainder of the support guide is devoted to instructing Dark Sky users on how to use the Apple Weather app’s capabilities and interface.

Apple explains the app’s functionality in detail, including how to utilize the maps, handle notifications, and more. Despite Apple’s assurances, some customers aren’t sure Apple Weather is a good alternative to Dark Sky. Several Dark Sky users claim that Apple Weather still lags behind Dark Sky in a recent Reddit thread.

Recent sources claim that Apple is working on new iPad Pro variants. According to MacRumours, the two new OLED iPad Pro models should start selling within the first quarter of 2024.

The corporation intends to launch the new iPad Mini concurrently with the new iPad Pro models in early 2024, the source added. If that the story is true, Apple will for the first time increase the screen size of iPad Pro models.

It is believed that the company may reduce the bezel size in order to achieve the aforementioned screen size. Apple updated its 11-inch and 12.3-inch iPad Pro models in October 2022 by giving them the most recent M2 CPU.

Since the release of iOS 16, Apple has also made its WeatherKit subscriptions available. The company noted that developers can now access this weather information in apps created for iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, tvOS 16, and watchOS 9 using a platform-specific Swift API and for other portals using a REST API.

According to the corporation, developers can use the Account tab in the Apple Developer app to upgrade for additional calls or downgrade at any time.