Posts Tagged: cuts

Instacart cuts 250 jobs after reporting increased revenue

Another day, another layoff occuring in the tech world. Instacart, the popular grocery delivery and pick-up service has announced the termination of 250 employees — about seven percent of its workforce. The layoffs are primarily individuals in management, as Instacart told Engadget that it was moving towards a flatter organization. The company also said that it was disbanding some teams working on smaller projects in favor of focusing on bigger bets like retail-powered media and off-platform ads. Most of the layoffs will go into effect by March 31 with Instacart estimating that the process will cost the company between $ 19 million and $ 24 million due to factors like severance pay and employee benefits.

Instacart released the news along with its fourth-quarter earnings. Despite choosing to layoff employees, the company reported a six percent increase in revenue, jumping from $ 803 million to $ 804 million, year-over-year. At the same time, Instacart is seeing the voluntary departure of three of its executives: the chief operating officer, chief technology officer and chief architect.

The layoffs follow only a short time after Instacart's September 2023 IPO. Unlike many companies that barely (or didn't) survive the COVID-19 pandemic, Instacart thrived. It allowed people to stay and still receive their groceries and other necessary items. Now, it exists in 5,500 cities and, like most companies of the past year, is focusing on building its AI capabilities. But, despite its increased revenue, the company's layoffs signal that not everything is going as planned over at Instacart

Update, Feb 14 2024, 5:45PM ET: This story has been updated with additional details from Instacart about the parts of the organization affected, and to note that Instacart primarily isn't letting people go who are working on their ads products. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instacart-cuts-250-jobs-after-reporting-increased-revenue-112503431.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

EV maker Polestar cuts 15 percent of its workforce globally

Swedish electric car company Polestar is slashing its workforce by 15 percent globally. About 450 employees are expected to be let go due to “challenging market conditions.” The news comes despite its six percent increase in global car deliveries compared to 2022, according to its recent fourth quarter global fiscal report.

The company did, however, warn that it would reduce its headcount back in May 2023 which was around the same time it announced its production goals were disappointingly off by 10,000 to 20,000 cars from its initial goal. Polestar defended its decisions and explained it was “intensifying its focus” on cutting costs to make the business more efficient.

Despite delays in shipments last year, the 2024 Polestar 2 lineup is coming in strong with a suite of new upgrades, including longer mileage and faster charging. However, the company is faced with the issue that buyers might be turned off by its nearly $ 50,000 price tag when they can get newer models produced by rivals like Tesla for more than $ 10,000 less.

Job cuts across the EV sector have become commonplace, with rivals like Lucid Motors’ announcement to cut 18 percent of its workforce last year and Rivian slashing six percent. These trends might be due to the fact that supply chain issues are a huge problem in the EV industry, coupled with buyer hesitancy to invest in electric cars.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ev-maker-polestar-cuts-15-percent-of-its-workforce-globally-154941678.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Netflix cuts prices in over 30 countries

Despite raising North American prices a year ago, Netflix is getting cheaper in over 30 countries. Although that seems to be a contradiction at first glance, the company appears to be experimenting with the right balance of global revenue and subscriber growth as viewer habits change post-lockdowns.

The company has cut prices by as much as half in parts of the Middle East (Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Iran), Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya), Europe (Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria), Latin America (Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela) and Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines). Although periodic price increases have become a regular occurrence for Netflix, it also introduced a cheaper ad-supported plan in 12 countries last October.

The subscription price cuts come as several other streaming services (including Disney+, Hulu and Sling TV) have raised prices recently. “It definitely goes against the recent trends not just for Netflix, but for the broader streaming industry,” John Hodulik, media and entertainment analyst at UBS Group AG toldThe Wall Street Journal. “Some of these cuts on a percentage basis are substantial,” he said.

In Netflix’s January earnings call, co-CEO Greg Peters said the company wants to find areas where it can raise prices, helping to fund new content investments. “We think of ourselves as a non-substitutable good,” said Peters. The regional price increases let Netflix add subscribers to global markets where its share could be higher. The fact that rival services, including Disney+, HBO Max and Paramount+, are expanding globally likely weighed in the decision.

Netflix is still rolling out a new monthly fee for people who share their login credentials outside their homes. After trialing the program in Latin America, the company has rolled out paid account sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The new fee costs $ 8 in Canada and New Zealand, €4 in Portugal and €6 in Spain. It’s expected to come to the US early this year.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Twitter is reportedly done with job cuts and has started hiring again

Twitter won’t be firing and laying off more people, Elon Musk reportedly told the staff members who remained after asking employees to commit to an “extremely hardcore” Twitter during an all-hands meeting. According to The Verge, which heard a partial recording of the event, the company is even actively looking for people to fill roles in engineering and sales. Musk apparently made the announcement on the same day layoffs hit the company’s sales and partnerships teams. Robin Wheeler, Twitter’s head of ad sales, and VP of partnerships Maggie Suniewick were reportedly fired for opposing Musk’s directive to cut more employees. Of course, these all happened after the website’s new owner ordered layoffs that cut the company’s workforce in half.  

Musk didn’t specify which roles Twitter is hiring for during the meeting, The Verge said, but he did say that “[i]n terms of critical hires, people who are great at writing software are the highest priority.” Since this all-hands was also the first time Musk met with staff members following his takeover, employees asked him questions about the company’s future, including whether Twitter will move its HQ to Texas like Tesla did. Musk replied that there are no plans for Twitter to move, but that being “dual-headquartered” in both states could make sense. 

He also said moving to Texas would “play into the idea that Twitter has gone from being left-wing to right-wing.” Musk said that’s not the case. “It is a moderate-wing takeover of Twitter… to be the digital town square, we must represent people with a wide array of views even if we disagree with those views,” he added. As The Verge notes, Twitter recently fired people who called out Musk through tweets and through other avenues. 

In addition to addressing questions about the inner workings of the company, Musk announced during the meeting that Twitter might not be relaunching paid verification before this month ends, after all. If you’ll recall, the website had to pause its $ 8-a-month Blue subscription with verification shortly after it was launched due to a steep rise in impersonation and fake accounts on the website. 

Musk previously said that Blue Verified would return on November 29th. But now he told employees and has also announced that Twitter won’t be relaunching the subscription system until the website is confident that it can stop impersonation. Also, Twitter might ultimately give individuals and organizations different color checkmarks, which will make it apparent if users are interacting with a company’s or org’s actual account. Twitter already has a gray “Official” checkmark reserved for organizations, but it looks like it wants to make the indicator more visible and recognizable as a way to prevent people from being duped by impersonators.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Internet backbone provider Cogent cuts off service to Russia

Cogent Communications, an internet backbone provider that carries approximately 25 percent of all global web traffic, has begun cutting ties with Russian businesses in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The company told The Washington Post it was doing so to prevent the Kremlin from using its network to carry out cyberattacks and spread misinformation about the ongoing conflict.

“Our goal is not to hurt anyone. It’s just to not empower the Russian government to have another tool in their war chest,” Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer told the outlet, adding “it was a tough decision.” In a statement to ZDNet, the company said it was also complying with European Union sanctions against Russia Today and Sputnik. “Cogent is not otherwise restricting or blocking traffic originating from or destined for Russia. Cogent continues to provide services to Ukraine,” the company added.

The move is expected to disrupt and slow down internet connectivity. Some of Cogent’s Russian clients include state-owned telecom operator Rostelecom, one of the country’s largest internet providers, and wireless carriers Megafon and Veon. Cogent said it was working with some of those companies to provide them extensions.

Some experts worry the move will also prevent Russians from accessing information that doesn’t come from the Kremlin. “I would like to convey to people all over the world that if you turn off the Internet in Russia, then this means cutting off 140 million people from at least some truthful information,” Mikhail Klimarev, the executive director of Russia’s Internet Protection Society, told The Washington Post. “As long as the Internet exists, people can find out the truth. There will be no Internet — all people in Russia will only listen to propaganda.”

To that point, Russians already can’t access Facebook and Twitter after the country’s government moved to restrict those platforms. They may soon lose access to Wikipedia as well.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Amazon cuts the price of its Fire HD Tablets in the run-up to Black Friday

These days, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy tablet, especially if it’s really just used as a screen. It’s a role ideally-suited to Amazon’s Fire series of devices that deliver a solid experience but won’t break the bank. In the…
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A sushi restaurant chain in Japan is using AI to evaluate tuna cuts

The highlight of almost any sushi platter is the fatty tuna. Finding that perfect cut of tuna that melts in your mouth is something that fish buyers spend years of their life learning how to do. But now a Japanese advertising agency named Dentsu Inc…
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Disney+ cuts off ‘Simpsons’ jokes with widescreen episodes

The Disney+ launch didn't just have some technical hiccups — it also irritated The Simpsons fans. Viewers have discovered that all classic Simpsons episodes are the cropped widescreen versions, not the 4:3 originals that FXX brought back in 2015….
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Tesla raises prices, cuts options to simplify its EV lineup

Tesla has made good on its plan to cull options for its electric cars, and the changes are… mixed. Electrek has learned that Tesla has raised the prices of the Model S 75D and Model X 75D by $ 1,000 to $ 78,000 and $ 84,000 respectively, albeit with…
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Sphero cuts jobs and refocuses on education

Sphero was supposed to have a banner holiday with a slew of toys themed around Star Wars, Cars 3 and Spider-Man on top of its own self-branded creations. However, things turned out very differently. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch that it rec…
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GoPro cuts nearly 300 jobs as it quits making drones

GoPro still isn't in the best of health, and that's leading it to make some tough decisions about its future. The action camera maker has confirmed that it's cutting nearly 300 jobs (from 1,254 to "fewer than 1,000"), and is exiting the drone market…
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Hush now: New gene-silencing drug cuts cholesterol by half in clinical trial

By silencing a gene, a new treatment may help fight high cholesterol. In clinical trials, the drug known as inclisiran developed by researchers from Imperial College London reduced cholesterol by an impressive 50 percent.

The post Hush now: New gene-silencing drug cuts cholesterol by half in clinical trial appeared first on Digital Trends.

Cool Tech–Digital Trends

Maker of a $14,000 super-secure phone gets cold feet after low sales force cuts

Sirin Labs, makers of the $ 14,000 Solarin phone, proves that getting ahead in smartphone manufacturing today is a true challenge, as news spreads of a change in strategy and not enough sales.

The post Maker of a $ 14,000 super-secure phone gets cold feet after low sales force cuts appeared first on Digital Trends.

Android Army–Digital Trends

Parrot cuts a third of its workforce as drone sales increase but prices drop

2016 may have been the best year yet for drone sales — but as prices fall, Parrot is cutting a third of its drone workforce. The company says it will be reducing the number of options and focusing on commercial drones.

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