Meta will charge users for its subscription service

Claire Peterson on September 5, 2023

Meta – Another upcoming huge tweak Mark Zuckerberg made to Facebook and Instagram on Sunday has already angered users.

The CEO of Meta reportedly stated that the business is exploring a paid membership service that validates Facebook and Instagram users.

The unexpected Meta news surfaced just after Twitter said that it will start charging users for SMS two-factor authentication.

The news

In his introduction, Zuckerberg said that the subscription service will be dubbed “Meta Verified.”

Everyone who wants to utilize this service must pay $11.99 each month.

Those who use iOS, however, will have to pay $14.99 a month.

Australia and New Zealand will have access to Meta Verified this week before other regions.

Meta Verified

Meta’s subscription service is more than just a status symbol.

Also, it has benefits including enhanced protection against fake accounts.

Furthermore, Meta Verified provides clients with easy access to customer service.

A blue badge that enables account verification is given to users who utilize the subscription service.

Anybody who wants to utilize the subscription must have a government ID that exactly matches the name and photo on their profile.

They must also be at least 18 years old to subscribe to Meta Verified.

Statements

Mark Zuckerberg posted the following in a post on the Instagram broadcast channel Meta Verified:

“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services.”

The startling revelation shocked everyone, but Meta clarified to let everyone breathe.

The social media behemoth said that the verified accounts, which were previously exclusively accessible to real, well-known people, will not be impacted by the new subscription service.

“We are evolving the meaning of the blue badge to focus on authenticity so we can expand verification access to more people,” said a Meta spokesperson.

“We will display follower count in more places so people can distinguish which accounts are notable public figures among accounts that share the same name.”

A league of their own

Due to the company’s use of subscription services, Meta Verified falls under the same banner of platforms like:

Discord
Reddit
Twitter
YouTube

Twitter has generated the hottest discussions out of all the websites with a committed subscription service.

Twitter Blue

In December, Twitter Blue, a premium service for verification, was re-released by Elon Musk and Twitter.

The firm had been utilizing the service up until a flood of fake “verified” accounts forced them to withdraw.

Twitter has also added new colors for a number of checkbox choices to make it simpler to distinguish between distinct accounts, including:

Gold checks for companies
Gray checks for government organizations and affiliates
Blue checks for individuals, celebrities or non-celebrities

Android and iOS users may use Twitter by subscribing to Twitter Blue for $11 per month.

Elon Musk wanted to increase the number of customers when he paid $44 billion to buy the business in late 2022.

Two-factor authentication

There was uproar when Twitter said last week that it was reviewing how it handled two-factor authentication.

SMS texts are a two-factor authentication mechanism that is exclusively accessible to Twitter Blue subscribers, according to the press release.

A 2021 survey by Twitter Account Security found that just 2.6% of Twitter users had 2FA activated.

Around 74.4% of customers have so far chosen SMS authentication.

Beginning on March 20, non-Twitter Blue users will have two more, cost-free login options:

A security key
A mobile authentication app

On February 15, the news was made on Twitter in a blog post that read:

“Instead of only entering a password to log in, 2FA requires you to also enter a code or use a security key. This additional step helps make sure that you, and only you, can access your account.”

“While historically a popular form of 2FA, unfortunately we have seen phone-number based 2FA be used – and abused – by bad actors.”

“So starting today, we will no longer allow accounts to enroll in the text message/SMS method of 2FA unless they are Twitter Blue subscribers.”

“Non-Twitter Blue subscribers that are already enrolled will have 30 days to disable this method and enroll in another.”

“We encourage non-Twitter Blue subscribers to consider using an authentication app or security key method instead.”

“These methods require you to have a physical possession of the authentication method and are a great way to ensure your account is secure.”

…

NetChoice claims California law violates First Amendment, sues state

Leah Cooper on January 30, 2023

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The extensive industry group NetChoice comprises tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta, TikTok, and Twitter.

On Wednesday, the group announced its intention to sue California.

They decided to overturn the state’s recently approved Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which they believe violates the First Amendment.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act

California’s legislation was modeled after those in the UK.

It wants to establish rules to make the internet safer for young people.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act mandates that kids always have the most privacy enabled.

Additionally, it mandates that websites intended for children under 18 assess the possibility of user abuse or exploitation.

The lawsuit

The NetChoice lawsuit is a developing legal case involving online free expression.

Legislators routinely want to weaken the extensive liability protections offered by online platforms for user posts and content control.

All political parties are impacted by privacy and content control issues.

However, there is still disagreement between Republicans and Democrats regarding the best ways to solve the issues.

Even though a majority Democratic legislature supported the California act, NetChoice filed lawsuits against Texas and Florida for the social media laws passed by those states’ legislatures.

By requiring tech corporations to delete posts with political undertones, the legislation seeks to make them accountable.

Allegations

In contrast to what it was supposed to do, the new law in California would harm adolescents rather than protect them, claims NetChoice.

Furthermore, they contend that compelling businesses to deduce from consumers the meaning of “inherently subjective terms” violates their First Amendment rights to free speech.

According to NetChoice, the state may impose financially ruinous fines if the companies are wrong.

“The State can also impose such penalties if companies fail to enforce their content moderation standards to the Attorney General’s satisfaction,” said the group.

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act is anticipated to take effect in July 2024.

According to NetChoice, the bill will force content providers to drastically reduce their output to avoid paying fines for creating what California deems harmful.

“The over-moderation will stifle important resources, particularly for vulnerable youth who rely on the Internet for life-saving information,” said NetChoice.

Defense of the law

A representative for California Attorney General Rob Bonta defended the legislation despite the accusations.

The statement claims that the policy provides essential new safeguards against the collection and use of children’s data.

Furthermore, it addresses some verifiable negative consequences of social networking and other online products and services.

“We are reviewing the complaint and look forward to defending this important children’s safety law in court.”

Prior concerns

The lawsuit’s language is similar to a bipartisan federal bill that aims to provide children with online protection but is being contested by civil society organizations.

The groups expressed concern that the bill would increase the danger posed by children and teenagers.

The following organizations were among those opposed to the legislation:

The American Civil Liberties Union
Center for Democracy & Technology
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Fight for the Future
Glaad
Wikimedia Foundation

Concerning the bill’s potential negative impacts, notably on the rights of the LGBTQ community, the organizations issued a warning.

People in the community are already concerned about how political prejudices can affect the standards used by content filters.

The bipartisan bill

The law would have imposed requirements on websites that minors under the age of 16 are likely to access.

Therefore, it would be their responsibility to reduce the likelihood of physical or psychological harm to young users, especially by encouraging the following:

Self-harm or suicide
Encouragement of addictive behavior
Enabling online bullying
Predatory marketing

“KOSA would require online services to ‘prevent’ a set of harms to minors, which is effectively an instruction to employ broad content filtering to limit minors’ access to certain online content,” wrote the groups.

“Online service would face substantial pressure to over-moderate, including from state Attorneys General seeking to make political points about what kind of information is appropriate for young people.”

“At a time when books with LGBTQ+ themes are being banned from school libraries, and people providing healthcare to trans children are being falsely accused of ‘grooming,’ KOSA would cut off another vital avenue to access to information for vulnerable youth.”

Revamping the federal bipartisan bill

The responsible legislators attempted to address the problems in a revised version of the legislation.

On Tuesday night, updates that addressed issues raised by the LGBTQ community and significant lawmakers were released.

In order to address worries that attorneys general with anti-LGBTQ attitudes may abuse the law, a modified “duty of care” language was introduced.

Additionally, a language stating that companies are not required to collect additional user information to determine the user’s age was changed.

Despite the changes, certain groups nevertheless opposed the law.

Content moderation

NetChoice opposes the laws in Florida and Texas that would weaken Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields the tech industry from legal culpability.

The Act safeguards the right to manage content.

Republicans, on the other hand, have been attempting to enact more regulations on social media because they believe that conservative ideas are being suppressed on well-known websites.

Popular sites have denied unfairly implementing their community guidelines when this has occurred.

According to a reputable study, internet discussions are often dominated by conservative viewpoints.

A Texas version was barred from taking effect in May by the Supreme Court.

The merits of the case were not, however, decided.

Lower courts have thus far rejected Florida’s version.

References:

Tech industry group sues to block California law designed to protect kids online over free speech concerns

Kids Online Safety Act may harm minors, civil society groups warn lawmakers

Revamped kids’ online privacy bill emerges in year-end push (1)

Google employees stressed about new performance review system

Claire Peterson on December 26, 2022

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Google: Only a small number of Google employees, according to internal discussions, are expected to receive great performance ratings, with many more perhaps receiving low ratings.

The company’s upcoming implementation of a new performance review system will also endanger the security of underperforming employees.

The news

Google officials recently provided further information on the company’s new performance evaluation system during a meeting and a separate presentation last week.

The company estimates that under the new policy, 6% of full-time employees will fall to low-ranking groups, increasing their likelihood of receiving corrective action from the prior 2%.

High marks will also be more challenging to achieve.

In contrast to the previous prediction of 27%, Google forecasts that 22% of employees will be rated in one of the top two categories.

Employees must do the “near-impossible” and offer more than “thought possible” in order to be in the highest-rated category, Transformative Impact.

Reaction

The company’s performance evaluation procedure, Google Reviews and Development (GRAD), was revealed earlier this year.

There have apparently been more employee concerns about GRAD’s procedural and technical issues as year-end deadlines have gotten closer.

Many people are concerned that the evaluations they receive won’t be accurate.

Recent cutbacks in the technology industry have made the situation more pressing.

Although Google has avoided massive job cuts like those at Meta, some employees are concerned they could be the next.

Headcount

Although Google officials have long emphasized transparency, employees have complained that headcount inquiries have not been appropriately answered.

Some workers think the corporation may reduce staff as a result of the new review system.

The headcount has been the main source of stress for employees in the latter months of 2022.

After years of explosive expansion, Google CEO Sundar Pichai was compelled to explain Google’s shifting attitude in September.

Executives did not totally rule out the possibility of layoffs despite the small savings.

At an all-hands meeting in November, a number of employees questioned the management about their projected headcount.

Additionally, employees questioned whether officials had improperly regulated staffing when Google increased its workforce by 24% year over year in Q3 2022.

The company employed 186,779 full-time staff members as of the third quarter, in addition to a comparable number of contractors.

According to recent GRAD filings, the company will review stock, salary, and bonuses.

The new system expects handing out more money per individual overall.

The document concludes by stating that Google will keep paying between the top 5% and 10% of market values.

Stress

Many of the most frequently asked topics from the most recent all-hands conference focused heavily on the stress associated with year-end performance reports.

Employees don’t believe Google’s management will be open and honest about its employment count, according to the questions.

“Why did Google push support check-in quotas in front-line managers days before the deadline?” one employee asked.

“I’ve been through a lot in Google in 5+ years, but this is a new low.”

Another said:

“It seems like a lot of last-minute support check-ins were forced through part of Cloud in order to meet a quota, causing a lot of distress.”

“With only two weeks to correct course, how is this helpful feedback? How do we prevent this from happening in the future?”

A top-rated employee said:

“The support check-in process is confusing, increasingly becoming a cause of stress and anxiety in Googlers, especially given the current economic situation and rumors around layoffs.”

Course

Earlier this month, reports of “support check-ins” for personnel surfaced.

On the days before year-end deadlines, support check-ins are typically linked linked to poor performance ratings.

Employees said that on the closing days, administrators changed a number of the process steps.

Fiona Cicconi discussed the GRAD concerns at a recent meeting, saying, “I know it’s been bumpy.”

“It’s not ideal to have support check-ins occur so late in the review cycle, and we know that people need time to absorb the feedback and take action on it.”

Google employees, according to Cicconi, require more time to change their course.

Executives have been questioned by staff members about if they are obliged to transfer employees to lower performance categories in order to cut headcount in 2023.

The staff weren’t fully convinced despite the management’s frequent claims that there were no quotas.

The question of whether Google was becoming a “stack-ranking” company like Amazon, which ranks employees’ performance based on quotas, was also put to the executives.

“Uncertainties around GRAD processes have been putting a lot of pressure on lower-level managers to pass down information,” said a highly-rated question.

“Layoffs across the industry has been a topic impacting Googlers, raising stress, anxiety, and burnout,” another read.

“There’s been no official comms on this, which raises even more concern around this. When will the company address this topic?”

CEO Sundar Pichai made it clear that he is unsure of what the future holds while avoiding direct questions from the general public.

“What we’ve been trying hard to do is, we are trying to prioritize where we can so we are set up to better weather the storm, regardless of what’s ahead,” said Pichai.

“We really don’t know what the future holds, so unfortunately, I cannot making forward looking commitments, but everything we’ve been planning on as a company for the past six to seven months has been: do all the hard work to try and work our way through this as best as possible so, that’s all I can say.”

Reference:

Google tells employees more of them will be at risk for low performance ratings next year

TikTok receives ban on government devices

Claire Peterson on December 26, 2022

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TikTok: It’s a new step that the bipartisan spending agreement will forbid TikTok from being utilized on equipment used by the government.

On Friday, the legislation was approved by both Houses of Congress.

The decision highlights the growing anxiety surrounding the popular video-sharing app, which is owned by the Chinese corporation ByteDance.

The bill

President Joe Biden has not yet given his approval to the bipartisan spending plan.

It urges e-commerce retailers to conduct more research to halt the sale of counterfeit goods online.

The measure also increases the filing fees for companies seeking to merge with federal antitrust regulators.

However, Congress was unable to pass a number of strict measures aimed at the tech industry, including:

Antitrust legislation that requires Apple and Google app stores to give developers more payment options
A measure mandating new guardrails to protect children online

In spite of progress made by Congress in 2022 toward a compromise measure on national privacy standards, a patchwork of state laws continue to govern the protection of consumer data.

Reaction to the bill

The Chamber of Progress, a center-left-leaning organization in the tech sector, praised the rejection of many antitrust bills that would have targeted its donors which included:

Amazon
Apple
Google
Meta

Following the presentation of the package, Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the Chamber of Progress, made the following official statement:

“What you don’t see in this year’s omnibus are the more controversial measures that have raised red flags on issues like content moderation.”

The company has previously expressed worries about the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, a well-known antitrust statute.

NetChoice, another tech organization, praised Congress for refusing to include unrestrained extremist progressive ideas to alter American antitrust law.

However, the legislation that was enacted by lawmakers as part of the budget package would have an impact on the industry in a number of different ways.

TikTok ban

The removal of TikTok from devices provided by the government may have an influence on rival platforms like Snap, Facebook, and Instagram that are fighting for the attention of younger users.

Exemptions from the law are also provided for research, national security, and law enforcement purposes.

Lawmakers and FBI Director Christopher Wray are concerned that TikTok’s ownership structure may expose US user data to Chinese firms that may be required by law to turn over user information.

Although TikTok has often stated that the information it gathers from US users is not kept in China, these assertions have had little impact.

The company has been attempting to come to an agreement with the government through the US Committee on Foreign Investment to allay worries about national security.

A spokesperson for TikTok released the following statement after the announcement:

“We’re disappointed that Congress has moved to ban TikTok on government devices – a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests – rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review.”

“The agreement under review by CFIUS will meaningfully address any security concerns that have been raised at both the federal and state level.”

“These plans have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies – plans that we are well underway in implementing – to further secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue to brief lawmakers on them.”

Mergers

Even though other antitrust measures targeting digital platforms were not included in the end-of-year legislation, a bill that helps raise funds for the antitrust institutions that investigate mergers did.

The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act raises the filing fee that companies pursuing significant mergers must pay to the antitrust agencies in order to comply with the law’s requirements.

Additionally, the bill lowers the cost of smaller fees and allows for yearly charge adjustments in accordance with the CPI.

The measure’s targeted beneficiaries are the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.

Both have seen a large increase in merger filings over the past few years without adequate budget increases.

Despite falling short of antitrust groups’ hopes, the measure incorporating the merger filing fee was praised.

According to Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, the bill would strengthen antitrust law for the first time since 1976.

“This is a major milestone for the anti-monopoly movement,” said Miller.

“Big Tech, Big Ag, and Big Pharma spent extraordinary sums in an unprecedented effort to keep Congress from delivering on antitrust reform and undermine the ability of state and federal enforcers to uphold the law – and they lost.”

The bill’s proponent, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, claimed that updating merger fees after decades is vital to provide antitrust enforcers with the resources they require to carry out their duties.

“This is clearly the beginning of this fight and not the end,” she said.

“I will continue to work across the aisle to protect consumers and strengthen competition.”

Tech impact on children

The bill contains the Children and Media Research Advancement (CAMRA) Act.

It authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to do research on how media and technology affect young children, teenagers, and infants.

According to the law, the following technological advancements may have an effect on physical, mental, and cognitive health:

Social media
Artificial intelligence
Video games
Virtual reality

The director of the National Institutes of Health must provide a report to Congress on the organization’s operations within two years of the law’s adoption.

Reference:

TikTok banned on government devices under spending bill passed by Congress

Meta threatens to remove news content on FB

Edward Anderson on December 12, 2022

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, threatened to remove news content from its platforms on Monday.

The threat came after reports emerged that US lawmakers are adding a controversial pro-media legislation to the annual Defense Licensing Act.

Meta’s warning highlights the danger the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) poses to its business model.

The bill

Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced the legislation with support from more than a dozen lawmakers from the two political parties.

It would create a four-year exemption under US antitrust laws and allow news organizations to jointly negotiate with social media platforms for a greater share of ad revenue in exchange for news content.

Additionally, the legislation is one of many tech-focused antitrust laws waiting on Capitol Hill.

Response

Meta spokesman Andy Stone wrote a statement saying:

“If Congress passes an ill-considered journalism bill as part of national security legislation,” he started.

“We will be forced to consider removing news from our platform altogether rather than submit to government-mandated negotiations that unfairly disregard any value we provide to news outlets through increased traffic and subscriptions.”

Previous actions

Meta has already demonstrated that it intends to follow through with its threats.

A similar legislation was proposed and passed in Australia last year.

As a result, Meta has temporarily removed the ability for users to view and share post links on its platforms.

However, the social media giant changed course when Australia passed the law.

The tech industry

Digital rights organization Fight for the Future has addressed the reports, saying multiple sources said efforts to include the JCPA in the annual defense bill were successful.

Additionally, the National Defense Authorization Act is included in the language of the JCPA.

Meanwhile, the tech industry is fiercely opposing the JCPA.

Furthermore, the bill has been criticized by more than two dozen civil society groups, often clashing with Big Tech on policy issues.

The groups wrote a letter to congressional leaders on Monday saying the JCPA could exacerbate disinformation and disinformation.

The law could allow news sites to sue tech platforms for restricting the publication of a story and intimidate them into moderating offensive or misleading content.

Additionally, the letter says the JCPA may favor large media companies over smaller, local and independent outlets, which have been hurt by falling digital advertising revenue.

The groups that signed the letter include:

The American Civil Liberties Union
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation
Public Knowledge

Reference:

Meta threatens to remove news content over US journalism bargaining bill

Meta finds US military connection in fake accounts

Jason Robinson on December 12, 2022

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Meta on Tuesday announced that Facebook and Instagram accounts promoting US interests overseas have ties to the US military.

According to the social media giant, a network of fake accounts fueled interests by targeting audiences in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The announcement marks a rare example of a US entity tying an online influence operation to Washington instead of a foreign government.

The news

Meta has removed more than three dozen Facebook and two dozen Instagram accounts for violating the platform’s “inauthentic coordinated behavior” policy.

While attributing it to the military, Meta did not name any specific US military command.

However, in September, the Pentagon opened a full investigation covering entities involved in online influence operations.

The Washington Post reported that US central command was among those being monitored.

The accounts

Meta claimed to have deleted the fake Facebook accounts.

The company also added that the United States is helping the country of Tajikistan secure its border with Afghanistan.

Furthermore, Meta said Washington is the key to stability in the region.

Researchers from analytics firm Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory documented the activity in a report in August.

The study says Afghanistan-related posts peaked during periods of strategic importance to the United States.

It covers the months leading up to the chaotic withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan last August.

On Tuesday, Meta said the people behind the accounts had taken extra steps to hide their identities.

As a result, the activity has received little attention from legitimate users on Facebook and Instagram.

Reception

One former US official who focused on Russian issues complained about the ineffective influence or that the US military even tried.

Gavin Wilde oversaw malign Russian influence and cybersecurity issues on the National Security Council for two years: 2018 and 2019.

Today, he is a senior scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Regarding the Meta issue, Wilde said:

“I get the impulse, which is prevalent in military circles, that ‘the only way to lose is not to play’ in the information domain.”

“However, if their methodology gambles away the transparency and credibility the US wants to claim as benchmarks of an alternative to the Russian or Chinese model, is the payoff really worth it?”

Reference:

Fake Facebook and Instagram accounts promoting US interests had ties to US military, Meta says

TikTok one of the few tech companies to continue hiring

Edward Anderson on December 5, 2022

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TikTok is one of the few companies going in the opposite direction in the tech industry, continuing to hire in a bleak economy.

Meanwhile, most of Silicon Valley announced it would freeze hiring and cut its staff.

Hiring

An anonymous source confirmed Monday that the short-video app company is moving forward with its hiring process.

TikTok is committed to its goal of hiring more than 1,000 engineers at its Mountain View office in California.

Additionally, the hiring decision hints at the company’s goal of ensuring that a US-based team verifies user data in the United States.

Furthermore, the company’s goal comes after a Washington investigation into parent company ByteDance’s ties to China.

News of TikTok’s hiring first emerged from the media outlet The Information.

Corporate

Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, confirmed the company was still hiring.

He shared the announcement last week at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.

Chew also addressed other tech companies like Meta and Amazon, saying:

“We have always been more cautious in terms of recruitment,” said Chew.

“At this stage of our growth, I think that our pace, our cadence, of hiring is just right for us.”

The industry

Over the past few weeks, several companies have announced layoffs and downsizing.

Currently, Meta is cutting 11,000 jobs from the company, Elon Musk is laying off half of Twitter’s workforce, and Amazon confirms mass layoffs have begun.

Current and former corporate executives admit their companies grew too quickly during the pandemic.

At the time, consumers in isolation shifted their lives to go online.

However, businesses are now facing massive demand that is shedding thousands of jobs as the economy declines and a recession looms.

TikTok

The shift in the Silicon Valley hiring landscape is currently in favor of the short-form video app.

However, TikTok is trying to satisfy its critics and strengthen its position in the US by expanding into new product categories.

The company’s career portal website currently offers more than 4,000 global positions, but we need to clarify how often they update their recruiting page.

Last month, TikTok made headlines for listing new ecommerce-related features that indicated it was looking to build a storage and logistics network in the US.

“We are still hiring,” said Chew last week.

“Although, you know, at a pace that we think corresponds with the global challenges that we’re facing.”

Reference:

As Meta and Twitter slash staff, TikTok plans to keep hiring

HP joins other tech companies in downsizing decision

Jason Robinson on November 28, 2022

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HP Inc. joins the majority of tech giants making significant changes to their operations with layoff plans in the coming years.

On Tuesday, the company announced it would reduce it over the next three years.

Thousands of employees are set to part with the company.

As a result, HP becomes the latest tech company to drastically cut its workforce amid a deteriorating economic climate.

Statement

HP announced the plan to downsize recently.

Additionally, the company released a statement on Tuesday afternoon containing the company’s meager earnings report.

Meanwhile, the report shows sales fell more than 11% from the same period in 2021.

“The company expects to reduce global headcount by approximately 4,000-6,000 employees,” HP wrote.

“These actions are expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2025.”

The company previously had approximately 51,000 employees worldwide.

Thinking long-term

Enrique Lores, the President and CEO of HP Inc., said the “Future Ready Strategy” will be critical for the company over the long run.

According to Lores, this will allow HP to improve its services for customers.

In addition, the strategy will drive long-term value creation through cost reductions and reinvestments in key growth initiatives.

Both of these measures will help better position HP for the future.

Other news

HP’s move joins a list of once high-flying tech companies cutting jobs and announcing a hiring freeze.

Facebook’s parent company Meta announced it is downsizing by cutting 11,000 jobs.

Last week, Amazon confirmed that mass layoffs had already begun.

Additionally, the e-commerce giant said it would continue to downsize until next year.

Reference:

HP says it will lay off up to 6,000 workers over the next couple years

Amazon shares plans to remove 11,000 employees

Edward Anderson on November 21, 2022

Amazon is planning a major workforce restructuring.

According to the New York Times, from unnamed sources, the company plans to lay off more than 10,000 employees in trades and technology.

The layoffs could begin as early as this week.

The overhaul would include the workforce responsible for Amazon devices, as well as that of retail and human resources.

The news

The Wall Street Journal published a similar report Monday that Amazon was laying off thousands of workers, citing an anonymous source.

The new ranks Amazon among other tech companies that recently announced massive layoffs.

Most companies chose to make a difficult decision amid general economic uncertainty and the sharp slowdown in demand seen by tech giants during the pandemic.

It was at the start of the pandemic that they were prompted to increase their numbers.

Additionally, Meta announced plans to lay off 11,000 workers last week.

Amazon shares

In early November, Amazon announced it was freezing the company’s hiring for a few months.

The company cited economic uncertainty and the number of people hired in the past few years.

During the pandemic, Amazon’s workforce grew as consumers and consumption habits shifted towards e-commerce.

However, in its latest earnings report, Amazon’s forecast for its holiday quarter revenue showed it falls below analysts’ expectations.

So far in 2022, Amazon shares are down more than 40% on a broader market decline.

The industry

Amazon’s potential layoffs come at a critical time for the retail industry as the holiday shopping season nears.

As recession fears and inflationary pressures persist, the National Retail Federation forecasts a 6% to 8% year-over-year sales increase for holiday shopping.

Additionally, in October, Jeff Bezos tweeted about the possibility of a recession, writing:

“The probabilities in this economy tell you to batten down the hatches.”

Last Saturday, Bezos told CNN’s Chloe Melas that the advice applied to businesses and consumers.

“Take some risks off the table,” he said.

“Just a little bit of risk reduction could make the difference.”

Reference:

New York Times: Amazon plans to lay off thousands of employees

Meta set for change with workforce layoff

Edward Anderson on November 14, 2022

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, plans to begin its first major layoffs to cut its workforce amid a struggling economy.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s move comes as it grapples with declining business and growing fears of a recession.

The news

The significant layoff is expected to affect thousands of employees.

According to the Journal, the layoffs could begin this week, citing anonymous people familiar with the case.

A September SEC filing also shares that Meta has over 87,000 employees.

Earnings result

Last month, Meta held a conference call discussing the third quarter results.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expects Meta to end 2023 with the same size or smaller organization than today.

Revenue

While it’s not certain yet, the potential cuts could be linked to tighter budgets for advertisers.

Additionally, Apple’s iOS privacy changes have affected the company’s core businesses.

Last month, Meta reported a sales decline in the second quarter and reported that profits had halved from 2021.

The drop in profits is caused by the billions the company spent to build the metaverse.

The metaverse is what many suggest is the future of the Internet; however, it is probably years away from operating.

The social media giant had a market cap of over $ 1 trillion in 2021, but it has declined.

Meta is currently worth over $250 billion.

When news of the company’s job cuts surfaced, the company’s shares opened more than 5% higher on Monday morning.

Other companies

Meta isn’t the only company in the tech industry rethinking its workforce.

Many companies in what was once considered an untouchable industry have recently announced staff freezes or job cuts.

The decision comes as a surprise as many grew rapidly during the pandemic.

Last week, Lyft announced that it would lay off 13% of its employees.

Payments processor Stripe also said it would cut 14% of its workforce.

Additionally, e-commerce giant Amazon has announced that it will pause corporate hiring.

Facebook’s rival Twitter made heavy cuts Friday after Elon Musk bought the social media company.

Twitter’s cuts have impacted its AI, marketing and communications, research and public policy team, just to name a few of the departments involved.

According to Bloomberg, Twitter asked dozens of laid-off employees to return.

Reference:

Wall Street Journal: Meta is planning significant layoffs

The news

Meta Verified

Statements

A league of their own

Twitter Blue

Two-factor authentication

The Age-Appropriate Design Code Act

The lawsuit

Allegations

Defense of the law

Prior concerns

The bipartisan bill

Revamping the federal bipartisan bill

Content moderation

The news

Reaction

Headcount

Stress

Course

The bill

Reaction to the bill

TikTok ban

Mergers

Tech impact on children

The bill

Response

Previous actions

The tech industry

The news

The accounts

Reception

Hiring

Corporate

The industry

TikTok

Statement

Thinking long-term

Other news

The news

Amazon shares

The industry

The news

Earnings result

Revenue

Other companies

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© 2023 The Chicago Journal.
All Rights Reserved