DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The job cuts by companies like Uber and GM targeting low performers show CEOs are taking a hard-line approach to management
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To wit, GM this week said it was axing roughly 500 salaried positions in performance-related job cuts. Business advisors who work with executives told Insider that companies conduct what are sometimes called "quiet layoffs" for two main reasons. Job cuts send a potent messageGM this week said it was axing roughly 500 salaried positions in performance-related job cuts. He recently told Insider that the widespread layoffs in tech are more likely due to companies parroting each other rather than necessary cost-cutting. In other words, a rival's announcement of job cuts gives other companies reason to follow suit.

New York CNN —General Motors is cutting an unspecified number of white-collar jobs globally, part of its announced efforts to slash costs to remain competitive in the shift to electric vehicles. GM has 58,000 salaried US-based staff and 46,000 US unionized hourly workers, making up the majority of its 167,000 employees worldwide. GM has said it will invest $35 billion between now and 2025 in the shift to EVs. Both Ford (F) and GM (GM) face contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union this fall on new labor deals for their US hourly workers. The union went on strike at GM (GM) for six weeks in 2019 before reaching a deal on its current contract.

☆ Elon Musk says the end of 2023 is a 'good timing' to find a new CEO for Twitter because the company will be 'stable' by then
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk says he plans to have someone take over his job as Twitter CEO near the end of 2023. He said end-2023 would be "good timing" to hand over the reins because Twitter should be "stable" then. "I don't know, I'm guessing probably towards the end of this year should be a good timing to find someone else to run the company," Musk added. Musk then started a Twitter poll on December 18, asking users whether he should "step down as head of Twitter." The results of the poll didn't swing in his favor — some 57.5% of the poll's more than 17.5 million respondents voted for Musk to step down as Twitter CEO.

☆ How Paramount+ is punching above its weight with Stallone, Showtime, and reinvented library shows like CBS' 'Criminal Minds' and MTV's 'Teen Wolf'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) is beefing up by bringing sister network Showtime into the fold. "The shows with rich, deep libraries are the ones that get a lot of consumption," said Paramount+ streaming chief Tanya Giles. But Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) is beefing up by bringing sister network Showtime into the fold — rebranding both the Showtime cable network and the streamer as Paramount+ With Showtime. Paramount+ is also building upon its library with originals: The streamer recently revived "Criminal Minds," which aired on CBS for 15 seasons. In anticipation of "Criminal Minds: Evolution," viewership of the original CBS "Criminal Minds" jumped 46%, a Paramount+ spokeperson shared with Insider.

☆ Leaked Amazon memo shows it only wants to hire students and new grads for entry-level software roles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But middle managers could be the latest layoff target in tech, especially after Mark Zuckerberg's latest reported comments. Leaked Amazon memo reveals new hiring strategy. The e-commerce giant is only hiring students and new grads for entry-level software positions, per an internal note reviewed by Insider. More on Amazon's latest hiring strategy here. The latest people moves in tech:An Amazon Web Services exec who was accused of gender discrimination is leaving, according to leaked docs.

☆ Managers at my company have to give at least one bad review on their teams. How can I make sure I don't get targeted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stack ranking is when managers score employees' performances relative to that of their coworkers. It's not easy to fight it if your company uses stack rankings, but you can take a few actions. Forced, or stack, ranking — a system in which managers score their employees' individual performances relative to that of their coworkers — needs to die but, alas, refuses to do so. Stack ranking is still used today, including at companies like Amazon, though it's largely been found to be a terrible management practice. Why, then, do some companies persist in stack ranking?

Newsletter publisher and digital media company TheSkimm laid off nearly 10% of staffers in January. Bustle Digital Group, The Washington Post, and Buzzfeed are among other media companies that cut workers in recent months. TheSkimm, the popular newsletter publisher and digital media company, laid off nearly 10% of its workforce — or about 17 staffers — in mid-January, according to a source familiar with the matter. TheSkimm is far from the only media company that has enacted wide-ranging personnel cuts in recent months. Entertainment media companies have also been heavily impacted, with AMC, NBCUniversal, Paramount Global, Roku, and Spotify paring back headcount.

☆ Amazon expands air cargo service to India even as company cuts costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

To match Insight AMAZON.COM-SHIPPING/ REUTERS/Mark MakelaAmazon on Monday announced it's bringing its air cargo operations to India, marking fresh growth for the company's logistics arm even as it looks to cut costs in other divisions. Amazon Air will enable the company to offer faster deliveries to customers in India, said Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, in a statement. The launch of Amazon Air in India comes as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is undergoing a broad review of the company's expenses as it stares down a worsening economic outlook and slowing retail sales. Amazon Air, which debuted in 2016, outsources operations to several airlines. Amazon has for years been working to grow its presence in India, which is poised to become one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world.

☆ Google is under more pressure to make cuts amid industry layoffs. Here are the units it could target.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google's parent company Alphabet has not yet conducted the mass layoffs seen at other tech giants. The company's stock is down 31% in the past year, and CEO Sundar Pichai has not ruled out layoffs. Its profit margins declined 740 basis points year-over-year last quarter and hasn't yet made job cuts, according to Bernstein estimates. Its profit margins had declined just 180 basis points year-over-year, according to Bernstein estimates. While Wall Street is skeptical that the company can avoid mass layoffs, it's possible that Google will weather the storm with smart targeted cutbacks and consolidation.

☆ Coinbase soars 10% as crypto markets rally and bitcoin notches highest price since September
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The extended rally in crypto markets are helping boost shares of the US crypto exchange. Coinbase cut 20% of its workforce last week, citing "increasingly challenging economic conditions." The move in Coinbase stock comes as cryptocurrency prices continue their uptick. Bitcoin jumped 20% in the past week, according to Messari, while the industry's market cap rebounded to more than $1 trillion over the weekend. The multi-day rally in digital assets is helping boost Coinbase stock, though shares of the company are still down 75% in the past year.

☆ Disney is rolling back unpopular price hikes at its theme parks that were made under former CEO Bob Chapek
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Disney is revising many of the unpopular theme park policies made under former CEO Bob Chapek. Current CEO Bob Iger reportedly complained to friends at length about theme park price hikes done under Chapek. A former parks executive himself, Bob Chapek angered many of Disney's most passionate theme park fans by jacking up prices and axing free services at the company's theme parks while CEO. "He's killing the soul of the company," Iger reportedly said. During Chapek's less-than-3-year stint as Disney CEO, he angered many of the company's most diehard fans: annual theme park pass holders.

☆ Premarket stocks: Bruised tech investors are hedging their bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —There are two certainties in today’s market: The tech sector has been beaten down and interest rates are higher. What’s happening: Investors are purchasing put options, a bearish bet that a stock will fall during a set period of time, on certain tech stocks at historic rates. The losses also created a booming market for investors who hold put option contracts that allow investors to sell shares of these stocks at a price higher than their current levels. Rising interest rates also dried up the easy money tech companies relied on to fuel big bets on future innovations, and cut into their sky-high valuations. Beyond that, the growing number of layoffs may also give certain tech companies some cover to take more severe steps to trim costs now than they may have otherwise done.

☆ Silicon Valley layoffs go from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

At Amazon and other tech companies, the second half of last year was marked by hiring freezes, layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at a number of household names in Silicon Valley. Rising interest rates also dried up the easy money tech companies relied on to fuel big bets on future innovations, and cut into their sky-high valuations. While there have been some layoffs recently in the consumer goods sector and hints of more to come elsewhere, the situation in Silicon Valley remains in stark contrast to the economy as a whole. And despite the robust overall labor market, there are growing concerns that tech layoffs could spread elsewhere. In that sense, at least, Silicon Valley may once again be ahead of the curve, but not in the way it wants.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials met Chinese scientists on Tuesday amid concerns over the accuracy of China's data on the spread and evolution of its outbreak. China reported five new COVID-19 deaths for Jan. 3, compared with three a day earlier, bringing the official death toll to 5,258, very low by global standards. British-based health data firm Airfinity has said about 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from COVID. Bookings for international flights from China have risen by 145% year-on-year in recent days, the government-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing data from travel booking platform Trip.com. But there are signs that an increase in travel from China could further spread the virus abroad.

☆ It's time to revive the 'pink-slip parties' of the early 2000s
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

First: Remember "pink-slip parties"? Now, 20-some years later, pink-slip parties are being floated as a way to ameliorate the pain felt by recently laid-off tech workers. Pink-slip parties originated with the dot-com bubble burst, when laid-off employees would gather to commiserate, laugh, drink, and meet prospective hiring managers. Hemming began running regular meetups for laid-off tech workers — misery loves company, after all — giving them an opportunity to network. She shared her thoughts on everything from the current hiring landscape to the benefits of pink-slip parties for younger generations.

☆ Australian stock exchange's blockchain failure burns market trust
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

That 96% of that software is working," Hogben told a Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association conference, in footage seen by Reuters. More than a dozen brokers, other market participants and people directly involved in the blockchain project told Reuters the failure had shaken trust in the Australian exchange operator. After New York startup Digital Asset Holdings showed ASX executives a test transaction on its blockchain software, ASX in early 2016 signed the little-known company to begin exploratory work on an overhaul. From an initial plan to run about 12 of CHESS's 400 data transfers per transaction on blockchain, ASX decided the new system would include all 400 transfers, the person said. Its spokesperson told Reuters there was "no off-the-shelf solution available to meet the needs of the Australian market".

☆ Goodbye to the good life: The cushy perks of tech work are rapidly disappearing.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over the past year, more and more tech workers have seen perks pulled as companies try to ride out a tough market and potential recession. As perks disappear and performance reviews become more brutal, tech workers' compensation will remain high. But for tech workers who, quite literally, enjoyed a free lunch, it still feels like the end of an era. Layoffs have wracked the tech industry, with 150,000 tech workers losing their job in 2022. But it's clear that for some tech workers, this perk correction has been overdue.

☆ The perks of tech work are rapidly disappearing. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But we've got more to talk about today, including the disappearance of lavish tech industry perks, and which generation of workers are most likely to feel "tech shame." When Elon Musk purchased Twitter, one of the first things he did was take away perks related to wellness, family planning, productivity, training, and home offices. The disappearance of perks is a shift from the decade before, when perks helped companies differentiate themselves from competitors. We explain why the perks of tech work are rapidly disappearing. Musk made the comments before the closure of his Twitter poll, which asked users if he should stay.

☆ A market downturn hasn't made activist investing any easier. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But even with a market downturn, activist investors' campaigns haven't been the cakewalk some might expect. Insider's Daniel Geiger, Rebecca Ungarino, and Casey Sullivan spoke to industry insiders — including famed activist investor Carl Icahn — about why the current landscape isn't as accepting as some might think to activist campaigns. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and a difficult market environment doesn't mean we'll see the number of campaigns decrease. Click here to read more about why top activist investors like Carl Icahn say this line of work is riskier than ever. Here's a five-step plan to help you decide when that side gig you have should be the only gig you have.

☆ Accounting giant EY is axing holiday bonuses for US staff over uncertain economic outlook: FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Big 4 accounting firm EY told US staff they will not be receiving holiday bonuses this year, per the FT. The accounting giant said this was due to "the changing economic environment." EY scrapping its holiday bonuses due to economic uncertainties stands in stark contrast to its euphoria in the fiscal year ended-2022, which the firm's global leaders called "one of the most successful years in the history of the organisation," the FT reported. And it's not just EY that's cutting back — companies across the board are shifting their strategies amid fears of an impending recession. EY did not immediately respond to a request from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Apple exec fired after being caught on video joking about 'fondling big-breasted women' says he stayed up all night trying to get the TikTok down before it went viral
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Apple exec Tony Blevins said he spent all night trying to get rid of a TikTok in which he made a crude joke. Apple fired Blevins over the video in September, after he'd been with the company for 22 years. The tech company, he said, reached out at 1:30 a.m. about the video, insisting he get it taken down immediately. "It was 22 years dissolved in about 25 seconds," Blevins told The Journal. The TikTok video was posted by a TikTok creator known as Daniel Mac as part of a series where he asks people with expensive cars what they do for a living.

☆ Moscow and other Russian cities are scaling back or canceling New Year parties to spend the money attacking Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's military is still struggling with a number of problems on the frontlines in Ukraine. As a result, some Russian cities have canceled or scaled down their New Year's celebrations. Moscow is still holding a New Year celebration — but it will not include fireworks, its mayor said. In Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the capital would hold a toned-down celebration, forgoing the usual firework show and mass concert. Some Russian activists last week accused him of spending billions on Russia's military while many of them freeze back home, The Daily Beast reported.

☆ Factbox: Global banks take axe to jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Banks typically trim jobs towards the end of the year, but 2022 has seen a bigger wave of redundancies and layoffs. Rising cost pressures as a result of inflation and shrinking revenues in many core business lines amid volatile markets are making bank bosses nervous about profitability in 2023. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov.8. CREDIT SUISSECredit Suisse (CSGN.S) is accelerating cost cuts announced just weeks ago, Chairman Axel Lehmann said on Dec. 2, confirming a Reuters report, as the bank races to slash its cost base by around 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.68 billion). DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers.

☆ Creators are getting whiplash from Instagram's unpredictable changes in how they can make money — and some are leaning away from the platform
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Creators said the many changes have left them exhausted, with some leaning away from the platform. Instagram creators are tired. "As we build a suite of creator monetization tools, we're constantly learning and testing remains crucial in understanding what offers the best experience. Whether or not ad-rev share will come to Instagram Reels (as is the case on Facebook), however, has not been announced. Instagram isn't the only social platform making sweeping changes to creator monetization tools, either.

The global job cuts at the London-headquartered bank will fall across several business units and geographical locations and result in the loss of at least 200 positions, mostly with the title of Chief Operating Officer (COO), the sources said. HSBC, which used to position itself as the world's local bank, employs many COOs because country and business lines have their own separate COO, the sources said. The lender has been shrinking its sprawling global business for several years, downsizing in many regions and exiting some countries entirely as it tries to improve shareholder returns. The initiative, codenamed Project Banyan, follows HSBC's last major redundancy plan in 2020, which targeted up to 35,000 job cuts globally across all staffing levels. Three separate sources confirmed job cuts were underway, as HSBC joins a chorus of other western banks axing staff as a bleak global economic outlook weighs on business, consumer and investment banking revenues.

Search resuls for: "axing"

25 mentions found