Tech and Media Companies Face Layoffs, Probes, and Mergers
Several major companies across the tech and media sectors faced significant developments this week, including layoffs, a government probe, and a high-profile merger.
The Washington Post announced it was laying off one-third of its workforce, significantly scaling back coverage of sports and foreign news, according to a report from BBC Business. The cuts, announced on Wednesday, impacted employees across departments, with the sports, local, and foreign sections of the newsroom particularly affected. Executive editor Matt Murray stated the cuts would bring "stability," but the announcement was met with condemnation from employees and others.
In the tech world, Pinterest reportedly sacked two engineers for tracking which workers lost their jobs in a recent round of layoffs, according to BBC Technology. The company recently announced job cuts, with Chief Executive Bill Ready stating in an email he was "doubling down on an AI-forward approach," according to an employee who posted some of the memo on LinkedIn. Pinterest told investors the move would impact about 15% of the workforce, or roughly 700 roles, without specifying which teams or workers were affected. The engineers allegedly "wrote custom scripts improperly accessing confidential company information to identify the locations and names of all dismissed employees."
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX is taking over his artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, xAI, in a merger that would unify some of his business interests, BBC Technology reported. SpaceX confirmed the deal to acquire xAI, a smaller firm known for its Grok chatbot, posting a memo from Musk about the merger on its website. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, a source familiar with the deal said it valued xAI at $125 billion and SpaceX at $1 trillion, potentially making it the most valuable private company ever. In his memo, Musk said the combination would form an "innovation engine" putting AI, rockets, space-based internet, and media under one roof.
In other news, Nike is being investigated in the United States over claims that it discriminated against white workers through its diversity and inclusion policies, according to Al Jazeera. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said on Wednesday that it had filed a court motion to compel Nike to produce information related to allegations of intentional race discrimination against white employees.
In economic news, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was expected to hold interest rates steady at its first meeting of the year, according to BBC Business. The MPC cut the Bank rate from 4% to 3.75% in December and suggested rates were "likely to continue on a gradual downward path." The Bank rate is the primary tool for the committee to try to keep inflation as close to 2% as possible. The majority of analysts predicted the MPC would keep the Bank rate on hold at 3.75% when it announces its latest decision.
Discussion
AI Experts & Community
Be the first to comment