Facebook parent company Meta is reportedly considering another round of layoffs after cutting 11,000 positions, or 13 percent of its global workforce, in November. Meta made those cuts in a bid to lower costs and increase efficiency as it struggles with financial headwinds along with the rest of the tech sector. The company's much-hyped pivot to the metaverse has yet to pay dividends, and traditional forms of revenue such as advertising spending have fallen due to widespread economic uncertainty. Employees have reported being demoralized by the situation.
TWITTER CHARGING FOR TOOL
Twitter is getting pushback for charging $100 a month for a tool that cash-strapped nonprofits and researchers have come to rely on. Known as the API, or Application Programming Interface, the tool allows organizations to scan the platform for calls for help. Some users are sharing their API keys with do-gooder organizations, but activists are urging Twitter to remove the fee.
AMAZON ROBOTAXI
Zoox, an Amazon-owned startup, is now testing autonomous robotaxis with passengers in California. The company started the tests after getting approval from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles last week. The robotaxis are completely autonomous and have no steering wheels or pedals. They also have bi-directional driving capabilities, meaning they can move forward or backwards with ease. Right now, the permits only apply to a one-mile stretch of road between the Zoox offices and Foster City, California and will only be shuttling employees.
REMOTE WORK COST $12B IN NYC
A Bloomberg News analysis of exclusive data from Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom found that remote work is costing New York City more than $12 billion a year. Work-from-home reduced the number of days in the office by 30 percent, which meant fewer commutes and fewer workers spending time in the city during the day. The analysis showed that the average worker is spending $4,661 less annually on things like shopping and food.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
