Here is a rundown of Cheddar News' top market stories of the day.
TECH LAYOFFS
Multiple outlets are reporting that Microsoft will begin a series of planned layoffs on Wednesday that could cut around 5 percent of its workforce, or 10,000 employees. CEO Satya Nadella warned the cuts were coming, and said the next couple of years were likely to be challenging, as the tech sector contracts after a decade plus of rapid growth. Amazon is also set to move ahead with plans to cut 6 percent of its 350,000 corporate employees.
ADOBE'S DATA DEBACLE
Adobe is facing backlash from customers who are concerned the software company is using personal images and video to train artificial intelligence models such as OpenAI’s Dall-E. Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky denied the accusations in an interview with Bloomberg, saying: "We have never, ever used anything in our storage to train a generative AI model."
UNITED AIRLINES EARNINGS
United Airlines' fourth quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates on the heels of a rebound in travel demand. The company reported a 31 percent increase from the same period before the pandemic. The gains were made despite the airline flying 9 percent fewer trips and a litany of other challenges, from winter storms to labor shortages to supply chain disruptions.
UNIVERSITY BANS TIKTOK
The University of Texas at Austin is blocking access to TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks. The move is a response to Gov. Greg Abbott's requirement that all state agencies delete the app from government-issued devices. The administration said it is also seeking to eliminate risks to information on the university's networks. University of Texas at Dallas and Texas A&M University System have since implemented similar restrictions.
E-scooter company Lime is gearing up to launch an IPO after raising $523 million in debt financing. CEO Wayne Ting joined Cheddar to talk about the decision behind the future public offering citing the fundraise as a sign of investor confidence, despite a massive drop-off in ridership amid the pandemic. He noted that some of the funds will not only be used to pay down debts but to also upgrade the company's fleet of e-bikes and scooters. "We're going to be investing $20 million of this funding towards our mission to get to net-zero on carbon by 2030," he said.
Weekly grocery delivery startup MilkRun raised $6 million in Series A funding on Friday, and Julia Niiro, CEO and founder, joined Cheddar to discuss what distinguishes MilkRun's grocery delivery model from the competition, explaining the service connects customers with local farmers being able to provide items not found in the typical stores. Niiro also talked about the impact that supply chain bottlenecks have had on the business. "This was a moment when people needed local food production," she said of MilkRun seizing the opportunity to expand to other markets amid the global food distribution issues.
With vaccinated international travelers being admitted into the United States, the service and hospitality industry could experience a boom. John Geller, president of Marriott Vacations Worldwide, joined Cheddar to talk about the gradual increase in stays at Marriott properties and noted that occupancy has reached near pre-pandemic levels. Regarding the holiday season, he said, "people love to travel, so I wouldn't be surprised if, in most of our resorts, we're not pushing close to a high 90 percent occupancy."
The pandemic caused chaos in the wedding industry after ceremonies were postponed last year. But now couples face a new problem as they look toward their big day: supply chain issues. Tim Chi, CEO at The Knot, joined Cheddar to provide some additional details about the supply constraints affecting everything from venues to flowers. Chi also talked about The Knot celebrating its 25th anniversary and how the business has transformed over the years.
Elon Musk asked Twitter if he should sell about $20 billion worth of his Tesla stock and about 58 percent of those who answered said yes. The Tesla CEO pledged to abide by the results of the poll, whichever way it went. Arun Sundararajan, NYU Stern professor & author of "The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism," joined Cheddar to discuss what the Twitter poll says about America's attitude towards billionaires and the nation's tax system.
David Ewalt, Editor in Chief of Gizmodo, joins 'Fast Forward' to paint a picture of what a metaverse-driven future looks like, and how it will propel the future of work and education.
Hyperlocal social networking platform Nextdoor made its public debut on the NYSE via a SPAC merger with Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. II on Monday. CEO Sarah Friar joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about what drove the company to a public offering and growing the platform on a global scale. "This allows us to not go back after investing and growing the neighborhood," Friar said. She also talked about the app's pandemic success and the fact that people have stuck around as businesses reopened on a larger scale.
