Washington Post Announces Sweeping Layoffs Amidst Tech and Economic Shifts
The Washington Post announced Wednesday it was laying off one-third of its workforce, significantly reducing its coverage of sports and foreign news. The cuts, impacting employees across various departments, particularly affected the newsroom's sports, local, and foreign sections, according to the Washington Post. Executive editor Matt Murray stated the cuts would bring "stability," but the announcement was met with condemnation from employees and others.
The layoffs at the Washington Post occurred amidst broader shifts in the tech and economic landscapes. Pinterest recently sacked two engineers for tracking which workers lost their jobs in a recent round of layoffs. According to the BBC, the company had announced job cuts, with Chief Executive Bill Ready stating in an email he was "doubling down on an AI-forward approach." Pinterest told investors the move would impact about 15% of the workforce, or roughly 700 roles.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX was taking over his artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, xAI, as the billionaire continues to unify some of his many business interests, the BBC reported. SpaceX confirmed the deal to acquire xAI, known for its Grok chatbot, posting a memo from Musk about the merger on its website. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, a source familiar with the matter said it valued xAI at $125 billion and SpaceX at $1 trillion, potentially making it the most valuable private company ever. Musk said the combination would form an "innovation engine" putting AI, rockets, space-based internet, and media under one roof.
In other 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 the BBC. 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.
Globally, a new report indicated a "democratic recession" with almost three-quarters of the global population now living under autocratic rulers, levels not seen since the 1980s, according to The Guardian. The report cited abuses led by figures like former President Trump as contributing to the erosion of the global rules-based order.
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