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Elon Musk made a surprise announcement that he'd found Twitter's next CEO. Twitter employees think they may know who Elon Musk has picked to replace himself as CEO of the social media company. Chatter from the media industry points to Linda Yaccarino, head of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. Yaccarino has told friends in the past that she wanted to be CEO of Twitter, one person familiar with the situation said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Yaccarino is in talks to be Twitter CEO.

☆ Abbot Downing's president pitched a buyout to save the Wells Fargo unit from being folded. The bank said no, and employees have fled.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wells Fargo folded Abbot Downing, which served the bank's wealthiest clients, in late 2020. In late 2020, Wells Fargo disbanded Abbot Downing, the unit that catered to the bank's wealthiest clients. Abbot Downing was folded into Wells Fargo's private bank, which also serves rich clients, but it wasn't a safe haven. Business Wire via APGinter left Wells Fargo in September 2021 to launch a new registered investment advisor the following March. Some ex-Abbot Downing employees refer to Callan the "new Abbot Downing" for its focus on the ultra-rich set.

☆ Meta just secured a patent for AI generated ads, which could give the company a needed boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year he wanted to "turbocharge" Meta's generative AI work. Meta is pushing forward with generative AI projects aimed at bolstering its still-recovering advertising business. What's described in Meta's new patent is the alteration and creation of new or "enhanced" ad content through the use of generative AI. In February, Zuckerberg said he was creating "a new top-level product group" at the company to "turbocharge" work in genAI. Instead, an advertiser will have the option to "ask the AI, 'Make images for my company that work for different audiences,'" Bosworth said.

☆ A judge threw out a lawsuit from laid-off Twitter staffers which claimed Elon Musk's cuts unfairly targeted women
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It said "unreasonable" working hours unfairly affected women and cited past apparently-sexist statements from Elon Musk. Two former employees first filed the suit last December, a month after Elon Musk laid off half the company's staff. It also cited Musk's "unreasonable" demands Twitter staff work 84-hours a week, and the end of the work from home policy. "The ultimate decision-maker in these layoffs, Elon Musk, has a history of making hostile and demeaning comments about women," Liss-Riodan told the news outlet. On Monday, Insider's Kali Hays reported that Twitter staff are growing increasingly frustrated over a drastic cut to its parental leave policy.

☆ Elon Musk sparks confusion and anger among Twitter employees who say reduced parental leave policy is 'the last straw'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter's Walter Gilbert tried in an email to calm angry employees over a much-reduced leave policy. Twitter's new head of HR attempted over the weekend to quell rising employee upset over a drastic cut to parental leave under Elon Musk. Twitter employees, whom Musk has reduced by roughly 90%, are angry at the change, the two people familiar said. Gilbert's weekend email seemed liked an attempt to walk back the new hard line on parental leave, the people familiar said. See Gilbert's full email below:Team,We know there are a lot of questions about our parental leave policy.

☆ Elon Musk's call to slow AI development is likely a ploy to let him catch up with the competition, veteran VC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has purchased 10,000 GPUs to build an AI model at Twitter, Insider reported. A VC founder said he suspects Musk just wants to catch up with the competition, per Bloomberg. Elon Musk's calls to slow down AI development could just be a ploy to help him catch up, the tech entrepreneur venture capitalist Vinod Khosla told Bloomberg. "I 80% suspect his call to slow down AI development was so he could catch up." In 2015, Musk cofounded OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT which is largely considered to be leading the new boom in AI technology.

☆ Twitter employees bonuses nixed as fear spreads that Elon Musk's promised stock grants are worthless
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk for months has said "excellent" Twitter employees will be rewarded for their efforts. Employees at Twitter are frustrated by Elon Musk's unkept promises. The latest is paid parental leave, which is now just two weeks, down from a previous paid leave policy of 20 weeks. Outside of that leave period, Twitter employees will be able to take unpaid leave up to the amount mandated by state law. In California, where Twitter is still based, workers are legally entitled to 12 weeks of protected, but unpaid, parental leave.

☆ A business owner suing Twitter over unpaid bills says the company ignored her and answered her with a bot following Elon Musk's takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Norma Miller is the CEO of a Vermont-based company suing Twitter over unpaid bills. Miller told Bloomberg that Twitter owes her company $42,000. A business owner who's suing Twitter over unpaid bills told Bloomberg that the company began responding to her with a bot after Elon Musk took over. Last month, her company was one of four that filed a joint lawsuit against Twitter seeking a total of $230,000 in unpaid bills. She told Bloomberg that Twitter stopped paying her company about two weeks before Musk's takeover last October.

☆ LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman takes another dig at Elon Musk for proposing a pause on AI development
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Reid Hoffman took a dig at Elon Musk over his stance on AI in a Milken Institute talk this week. Musk has signed a letter backing an AI development pause, but also wants to make a ChatGPT rival. Hoffman said, "Elon, while signing that letter, is trying to hire a whole team and stand up an AI effort." Elon Musk has some incongruous views on AI development, and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman pointed that out in a recent talk. On CNBC's "Squawk Box" last month, Hoffman said he disliked the idea of pressing pause on AI and criticized Musk over his stance on AI development.

☆ Inside Wells Fargo's 'chaotic' journey to transform its services for the ultrarich
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

In late 2020, some 300 Wells Fargo employees were summoned to a conference call. "I actually welcomed that, although I did like Abbot Downing," he said of folding Abbot Downing into the private bank. One team of legacy Abbot Downing employees with $3.5 billion in assets left for Hirtle Callaghan in June 2021. Today, Ginter runs a registered investment advisor called Callan Family Office, which some former Abbot Downing employees refer to as "the new Abbot Downing." Are you a current or former client of Wells Fargo Private Bank or Abbot Downing?

☆ Elon Musk has chopped Twitter down to about 1,000 employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In six months of ownership, Elon Musk has whittled Twitter's employee count down by close to 90%. Current headcount for full-time employees at Twitter is around 1,000 people, according to two people familiar with the company who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Getting closer to 1,000 workers means Twitter's headcount is down by almost 90% from just before Musk took over, when the company had roughly 7,500 employees. More frequently, employees at Musk's Twitter are fired or let go piecemeal with little to no explanation after sending in weekly reports of their work for review, the people familiar said. The former CEO has also admitted that he hired too many employees at Twitter when he ran it.

☆ Elon Musk's plan to charge for Twitter API access is unraveling
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk is beginning to walk back a hardline attempt to make Twitter money through access to its API. The change of heart suggests that Twitter may need reliable real-time information more than the providers need Twitter. "One of the most important use cases for the Twitter API has always been public utility," Twitter said on Tuesday. We're happy that they've committed to making API access free for the MTA and other public sector agencies. It now has the MYmta and TrainTime apps, as well as email alerts and text messages offering service alerts and updates.

☆ Elon Musk backs up the 'Godfather of AI' who quit Google to warn the tech could harm humanity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk says Geoffrey Hinton "knows what he's talking about" after he voiced concerns about AI. Musk recently signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on advanced AI development. Elon Musk has weighed in on comments about the dangers of advanced AI by Geoffrey Hinton, who is nicknamed the "Godfather of AI." Recently, he put his name to an open letter that called for a six-month pause on advanced AI development. Representatives for Elon Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

☆ MLB roundup: Braves' Spencer Strider flirts with no-no vs. Marlins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

He has pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings and has allowed three hits during that span. Joe Jimenez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to finish the game. Yennier Cano pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first career save. Three relievers completed the Blue Jays' three-hitter, with Jordan Romano earning his eighth save by tossing a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Alex Lange fanned two in a perfect ninth inning for his second save.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg grilled by angry employees who asked why executives received large bonuses during a year of layoffs and business turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He was grilled on pay for execs who received huge bonuses amid relatively poor business performance. Mark Zuckerberg last week took questions from angry employees who asked why executives at Meta seem to face no meaningful consequences for the decisions they've made which have led to thousands of layoffs, and counting. Zuckerberg also argued that Meta's performance overall negatively impacted the executives, meaning a reduction to their bonus was "baked in." According to Meta's proxy statement for 2022, each member of the C-suite received a bonus based on an individual performance multiplier. While an 85% multiplier would have shown they met expectations, all of the executives received a multiplier of either 125% or 165%, showing they are considered to have far exceeded what was expected of them.

☆ Meta is one of the most brutal tech job-choppers so far, axing about a quarter of employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The major tech firms are conducting ongoing, brutal layoffs. We crunched the numbers to see which major tech firms have reduced their headcount the most. According to Insider analysis, Meta follows after announcing cuts that amount to almost a quarter of its workforce, which was around 87,000 staff in 2022. Our analysis doesn't include the third round of Meta job cuts which began this week, reportedly numbering in the thousands. A recent Insider analysis shows that revenue per employee dropped at many of the major tech firms now chopping jobs.

☆ MLB roundup: Cubs' Drew Smyly flirts with perfection vs. Dodgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

Los Angeles starter Julio Urias (3-2) allowed five runs, seven hits (including two homers) and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. Seven of Urias' 10 earned runs allowed this season have come against Chicago. Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola tossed a season-high seven innings and allowed four hits and three runs with three strikeouts and three walks. Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (2-0) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, with five strikeouts and a walk. Pivetta (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven with one walk.

☆ Meta employees criticize Mark Zuckerberg's second round of layoffs in an internal forum: 'you've shattered the morale and confidence in leadership,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta's second round of layoffs, expected to affect 10,000 staff, began Wednesday. Employees criticized Mark Zuckerberg and other managers on internal company forums, per Reuters. Meta employees criticized Mark Zuckerberg on an internal company forum after Wednesday's layoffs, Reuters reported. "You've shattered the morale and confidence in leadership of many high performers who work with intensity," said one question seen by Reuters. But management experts told Insider's Rebecca Knight that Meta's second round of layoffs could harm employee morale.

☆ An AI researcher that Elon Musk hired was arrested in a domestic violence case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's new AI researcher Igor Babuschkin was arrested in March in a domestic violence case. Musk reportedly hired Babuschkin as part of a push to develop a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The case involved "a minor injury," but did not otherwise pose a threat to public safety, Philip told Insider. Babuschkin was arrested at 588 Webster Street, according to a police report log posted last month on the Palo Alto Police Department's website. Musk has also brought on resources including roughly 10,000 graphics processing units to execute his AI plans, Insider previously reported.

☆ Meta's latest layoffs: Here are more than a dozen jobs and teams hit most by this week's cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kali Hays | Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Wednesday, thousands of Meta workers received early morning emails on if they still had jobs. Meta began another round of layoffs on Wednesday, and employees were again left to figure out for themselves which jobs, levels, and teams were impacted by the cuts. How the layoffs happenedThousands of tech and engineering workers received emails over the course of about two hours on Wednesday morning. Laid off workers generally received 16 weeks of severance and benefits coverage for a year, as those laid off in November received. Impacted jobsHere is a running list of what types of jobs and certain teams at Meta were impacted by this round of layoffs.

☆ Facebook’s parent company Meta is doing layoffs again. But there’s one ‘safe’ team that could actually benefit from the job cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Netflix is ending its DVD-rental service that started the company over two decades ago. Gaming is 'safe' at Facebook's parent company Meta. But multiple people told my colleague Kali Hays that gaming within Meta's Reality Labs division will likely remain immune — and perhaps actually benefit — from the job cuts. One person told Kali that after the layoffs are done, the team will be able to start hiring again. The hit Netflix reality show captivated US audiences.

☆ MLB roundup: Clayton Kershaw blanks Mets, gets 200th win
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

Martinez hit two home runs in his first multi-homer game with the Dodgers and the 19th of his career. In addition to his milestone win, Kershaw (3-1) also improved to 11-0 in 17 career regular-season starts against the Mets. Mets starter Tylor Megill (3-1) gave up three runs on seven hits over five innings. Bassitt (2-2) allowed three hits and walked one batter while notching five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Philadelphia chased Lance Lynn (0-2) with one out in the sixth; he allowed five runs on 10 hits, fanning seven.

☆ Inside Mark Zuckerberg's new ambitions for metaverse gaming, an area likely 'safe' from layoffs coming this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gaming in Reality Labs is now seen as "safe" for workers as new layoffs begin. Gaming within Meta's Reality Labs division is getting more attention and resources as the company continues to reorganize during what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dubbed the "Year of Efficiency." Increased focus on gaming from Reality Labs is a shift for Zuckerberg. Besides gaming, Zuckerberg and Bosworth have publicly commented on the importance of AI at the company, with the metaverse taking a backseat. Meta now recognizes internally that traditional gaming is the most likely path to gaining financial ground with Reality Labs, one of the people familiar noted.

☆ Advanced AI keeps Sundar Pichai up at night and makes Sam Altman a bit scared. Here's why some tech execs are wary of its potential dangers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Here's what tech executives are saying about the potential dangers of advanced AI tech. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Musk said AI had the potential to destroy civilization. Sam AltmanOpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said he's a "little bit afraid" of AI. "And I think it'd be crazy not to be a little bit afraid, and I empathize with people who are a lot afraid." In an earlier interview with ABC News, Altman said that "people should be happy" that his company was "a little bit scared" of the potential of artificial intelligence.

☆ Recruiter PageGroup sees 29% slump in annual profit on tough market conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies First-quarter gross profit down 2.4% at 262.7 mln poundsQuarterly gross profit in U.S. market declines 15%Sees FY operating profit of 140 mln poundsApril 17 (Reuters) - PageGroup (PAGE.L) on Monday became the latest recruiter to warn of tough conditions in the labour market as it forecast a near 29% slump in 2023 profit, partly hit by weakness in the technology and banking sectors in the United States. PageGroup along with peers Hays and Robert Walters have flagged weakness in the permanent hiring market because employers were turning to interim hires to ride out market uncertainty amid a tough economic outlook. PageGroup's gross profit in permanent recruitment fell 7.2% in the first quarter on constant currency terms, while temporary jobs jumped about 15%. It now expects annual operating profit to be in line with a company-compiled consensus of 140 million pounds ($173.9 million), way below the 196.1 million pounds it reported for fiscal year 2022. The FTSE midcap (.FTMC) firm also posted a 2.4% decline in gross profit at 262.7 million pounds for the three months to March 31.

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