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Dell

Dell to slash about 6,650 jobs in latest tech job cuts

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Dell Technologies Inc is laying off 6,650 workers, or 5 percent of its worldwide workforce, as it faces challenges with a downturn in the market for personal computers and prepares for a global recession.

Dell’s decision aligns it with a slew of U.S. firms on Monday, ranging from Goldman Sachs Group Corporation to Alphabet Inc, that already have fired thousands this year to weather a demand slump caused by high rising prices and increasing interest rates.

Dell
Image Source: bloomberg.com

Dell had already implemented cost-cutting measures such as a hiring freeze and travel restrictions because it coped with a post-pandemic slump in PC sales, which also comprise more than half of its earnings.

Also Read: Twitter to start charging developers for API access

However, those actions are “no longer sufficient,” according to Jeff Clarke, the co-Chief Operating Officer, as he stated in a memo to the workforce.

“What we know is market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future,” Clarke said. Dell expects to book costs related to the layoffs in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in January.

Source: reuters.com

HP Inc has also announced job cuts of up to 6,000 people. As per a research company IDC, the PC, as well as tablet market, will decline by 2.6 percent in 2023 after experiencing fast expansion during the global epidemic due to working remotely.

“It was only a matter of time before the wave of tech layoffs reached Dell’s shores, given how sensitive the company is to both consumer and corporate confidence,” said Susannah Streeter, markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Source: reuters.com

As of January 28, 2022, Dell had approximately 133,000 staff members, with approximately one-third located in the United States.

Bloomberg News announced the news of the job cuts earlier today.

Dell’s stock was unchanged before the bell.

Also Read: Samsung, Google & Qualcomm team up on mixed-reality platform

According to preliminary findings from industry expert International Data Corp. (IDC), personal computer deliveries will drop dramatically in the final quarter of 2022. According to IDC, Dell experienced the greatest decline within and between major corporations, with a 37 percent drop when compared to the same period in 2021. PCs account for approximately 55 percent of Dell’s earnings.

In 2022, the technical sector declared 97,171 job cuts, an increase of 649 percent compared to the previous year.

apex legends

Why Apex Legends Mobile is shutting down?

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For years, Need for Speed, FIFA, and Apex Legends have been produced by Electronic Arts and its affiliates for consoles, personal computers, and mobile devices. Since its release last year, the battle royale shooter Apex Legends Mobile has gained popularity.

In fact, it most recently took up the Google Play Store’s prize for the best overall game. However, the game has struggled to maintain its momentum in terms of user growth and popularity.

Image Source: beebom.com

Apex Legends Mobile is sadly being discontinued by the corporation, and it hasn’t even been around for a year. For the following three months, gamers can still access the game and fight their final battles. Additionally, the company has decided to stop working on Battlefield Mobile, a move that suggests mobile FPS games aren’t as popular as they once were.

Also Read: The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

Apex Legends Mobile was first released in May 2022 by Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, a Tencent company, and Respawn Entertainment, which is owned by EA. It was made more accessible by the game’s ability to play Apex on devices other than computers and gaming consoles. Just before its first anniversary, on May 1st of this year, Apex’s developers declared a suspension for the mobile edition in a recent post.

The official shutdown is scheduled to begin at 7 PM ET. According to The Verge, gamers will not be able to make any more in-app purchases after Tuesday at 4 PM ET. Unfortunately, the creators have no intention of issuing refunds for any already placed transactions. It is recommended that users use any remaining in-game currency and play the game as much as possible while it still exists.

Players enthusiastically embraced the release of Apex Legends Mobile, according to EA’s announcement. The future battle royale game had two mobile-only legends (characters) and frequent updates that enhanced the characters’ skills and introduced new game modes, but it was shut down due to the content stream falling short of quality standards.

Also Read: Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?

The decision to shut down Apex Legends Mobile ultimately came down to money because the company’s finances were being negatively impacted by the rapid spike and decrease in player numbers. After a certain point, investing further in fresh Apex Legends Mobile content to draw and keep players became unfeasible for EA and its partners.

We can probably safely predict that the firm won’t start extensively promoting mobile shooters anytime soon. Therefore, before the doors permanently close, be sure to stay in touch with all of your Apex Mobile pals on other platforms in the upcoming three months.

The studio expresses its continued optimism for “mobile as a platform” in a blog post and states that it “looks forward to new opportunities to serve players there in the future.” Players can use their existing Syndicate Gold to play the game without any problems, but they won’t be able to perform any in-app purchases that cost real money.

foldable iPad

Is Apple really coming out with a foldable iPad?

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As per Ming-Chi Kuo, a Supply chain analyst, Apple could launch a foldable iPad as soon as the next year. Kuo anticipates that it will be joined by a redesigned iPad Mini, which will go into large-scale production in the initial days of 2024.

Kuo didn’t reveal much new information about the rumoured iPad foldable, but he did say it will have a carbon fibre kickstand manufactured by Chinese component producer Anjie Technology.

Image Source: macrumors.com

“I’m positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix,” he tweeted.

Source: theverge.com

A 2024 launch date is much sooner than the most notable foldable iPad estimation, made by Ross Young who is a Display Supply Chain Consultant analyst last February. He claimed that Apple is working on a foldable iPad/MacBook combination with an approximately 20-inch foldable display, however, it will not be released until 2026.

Afterwards, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed that Apple is looking into a dual-screen foldable, with the bottom half of the screen serving as a virtual keyboard whenever the gadget is utilized as a MacBook-style carrying case.

Also Read: Is 2023 the year for Apple to launch its mixed-reality headset?

Gurman did not provide a specifically planned release estimation but did say in October that Apple’s folding iPad could arrive eventually a bit late in the decade.

This is not the first occasion where Kuo has placed a timeline on an Apple foldable prediction. About two years ago, he predicted a foldable iPhone would be available in 2023.

However, it appears that this gadget will be much smaller, with a display size of 7.5 to 8 inches. Gurman even claims that Apple has addressed the release of a foldable device having a display size roughly comparable to the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Considering the recent absence of rumours about a foldable iPhone, it’s difficult to envision it launching in 2023, as Kuo predicted previously.

Also Read: Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?

Shortly, Kuo predicts a decline in iPad deliveries of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent year on year in 2023. Given the increase in sales appreciated by most customer technology firms amid the covid shutdowns, as well as the declines many have recently suffered, a drop in tablet deliveries this year would not be surprising.

Finally, Kuo predicts that Apple’s next iPad will be the iPad Mini. He anticipates that a new model will go into manufacturing in the first quarter of 2024, following its last refresh in 2021.

Tesla

Tesla is getting cheaper. Is it a good move by Elon Musk?

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Following a series of price cuts last week in Asia, Tesla reduced prices across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Analysts viewed this move as a direct jab at both its smaller rivals who have been bleeding money and the traditional automakers who are hurriedly ramping up their production of electric vehicles.

Tesla
Image Source: reuters.com

According to adjustments made to the pricing of vehicle listings on its website on Thursday, the EV company has lowered costs on some of its popular models, such as the Model Y SUV and Model 3, by close to 20% across the USA and Europe. Even while the cars are still rather pricey, the premium pricing has significantly decreased.

Additionally, it’s a hint that Tesla is defending itself after months of gradually raising the prices of its cars. Price reductions follow the company’s failure to meet market expectations for deliveries last year, which coincided with an economic slump that reduced its market valuation from a peak of $1 trillion to less than $400 billion.

Customers from the United States and France may benefit from the federal tax credits and discounts offered in each nation for specific electric vehicle purchases.

Also Read: What Does Twitter’s 200 Million User Email Leak Actually Mean?

Before a $7,500 federal tax credit became available for several electric vehicles on January 1, those price reductions—which might reach as high as 30%—were already in place. Tesla also reduced the price of its Model S sedan and premium crossover SUV in the US.

Without identifying which costs were decreased, a spokeswoman for Tesla Germany claimed that cheaper price inflation was also a contributing element in price reductions in its top European market.

Tesla reduced the cost of the Model 3 and the Model Y in Germany by anywhere between 1% and approximately 17%. The most popular Model Y will now cost 44,890 euros ($48,499), which is a decrease of 9,100 euros.

Additionally, it brought down costs in Austria, Switzerland, and France. Customers in France purchasing the Model 3 for 44,990 euros will now receive a further discount thanks to a 5,000 euro government subsidy on an electric vehicle programme with a 47,000 euro threshold.

Since taking over Twitter, Musk has progressively expressed his displeasure with the Fed’s strong interest rate hike strategy to drive inflation down slightly to its objective of 2% on the network.

Also Read: Why Are US States Banning TikTok from official devices?

Tesla has suffered because of the increase in interest rates. Its stock lost favour with investors for the same causes that tech stocks as a whole are down; speculative businesses that gamble on the future are currently less enticing to investors than safe-haven value assets like commodities.

Since taking over Twitter, Musk has progressively expressed his displeasure with the Fed’s strong interest rate hike strategy to drive inflation down slightly to its objective of 2% on the network.

Tesla has suffered because of the increase in interest rates. Its stock lost favour with investors for the same causes that tech stocks as a whole are down; speculative businesses that gamble on the future are currently less enticing to investors than safe-haven value assets like commodities.

Google

Google Parent Alphabet cuts 12000 Jobs

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The parent company of google announced a 6 percent reduction in staff in its biggest round of job cuts, prolonging a recession among tech firms following record pandemic recruitment.

Alphabet Inc. stated that the job cuts would affect approximately 12,000 jobs all over various units and areas, though some areas, such as recruiting and projects beyond the firm’s core businesses, will have a greater impact.

Google
Image Source: cnn.com

According to individuals with knowledge of the situation, the job cuts attained the vice president level and impacted divisions such as cloud computing as well as Area 120, a company’s internal incubator that had previously faced cuts last year.

As per the report by Layoffs.fyi, which monitors media reports and company updates, the Google layoffs make January probably the worst month yet in a flood of technical layoffs that started last year. Microsoft Corp. announced this week that it would lay off 10,000 employees, the most in over eight years.

Wayfair Inc., a leading online furniture retailer, announced the layoff of about 10 percent of its working population, and Unity Software Inc., a provider of tools for developing videogames as well as other applications, also reduced its workforce.

Amazon.com Inc. announced layoffs of over 18,000 employees this past month, and Salesforce Inc. announced layoffs of 10 percent of its workforce. Meta Platforms Inc. announced a 13 percent staff reduction last year.

During the global epidemic, tech firms such as Google grew greatly as online life gained in popularity. Recent cuts are part of a broader shift toward profit protection and the end of a growth-at-all-costs period in tech.

Officials have recently stated that the company will be strengthening its belt, signaling the start of a new era of much more structured and cost-effective spending. However, the firm had not revealed as big cuts as its Silicon Valley peers.

Also Read: Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO

Google recruited vigorously as consumption for its services increased during the epidemic, resulting in a more than 50 percent increase in total Alphabet employee strength since the end of the year 2019.

The layoffs announced this week seemed to fall short of the nearly 12,800 employees Alphabet hired in the third quarter of last year.

“Over the past two years, we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today,” Alphabet Chief Executive Sundar Pichai wrote in a message to employees sent out Friday and posted on the company’s website.

“I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here,” Mr. Pichai wrote.

Source: wsj.com

Overhiring has emerged as a repeating message at technology firms in recent months, as executives realized that some of the hirings they did early in the disease outbreak to keep up with increasing demands for all things digital left them overstaffed as the business climate got ruined.

Salesforce Co-CEO Marc Benioff, Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg are among the officials who have apologised.

Google

Google to pay $9.5 million to resolve DC location tracking lawsuit

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Google has agreed to compensate 9.5 million USD as a settlement of a lawsuit filed previously this year by Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine who alleged Google of misleading users and violating their privacy. Google has also consented to modify some of its methods, majorly how well it notifies users about the collection, storage, and use of their location data.

Google
Image Source: wtop.com

“Google leads consumers to believe that consumers are in control of whether Google collects and retains information about their location and how that information is used,” the complaint, which Racine filed in January, read. “In reality, consumers who use Google products cannot prevent Google from collecting, storing and profiting from their location.”

Source: engadget.com

Racine’s office also alleged Google of using “dark patterns,” which seem to be design choices that aim to deceive users into performing actions that do not benefit them. The AG’s office stated that the company repetitively prompted users to enable location tracking options in some specific apps and notified people that such features would not operate normally unless location tracking was enabled.

Racine and his team discovered that location information was not even required for the app in discussion. They claimed that Google made it unlikely for customers to opt out of getting their location tracked.

Google received a pittance of 9.5 million USD. Last quarter, it ended up taking the firm Alphabet less than 20 minutes to generate that much earnings. Modifications to the firm’s practices as a result of the agreement may have a greater impact.

Individuals who have specific location settings enabled will receive messages explaining how to disable each setting, remove the associated data, and restrict the time Google could indeed keep that details. Users who create a new Google account will be informed as to which location-related account options are enabled by default and given the option to disable them.

It will have to keep a webpage up to date with information about its location data practices and policies. This will include methods for users to see their location settings as well as information on how each setting affects Google’s collection, preservation, or use of location information.

Furthermore, without the user’s full permission, Google will be prohibited from spreading a user’s exact location details with a third-party marketer. Within 30 days of receiving the information, the company must remove location information “which came from a device or from an IP address in both web and app activity.”

“Given the vast level of tracking and surveillance that technology companies can embed into their widely used products, it is only fair that consumers be informed of how important user data, including information about their every move, is gathered, tracked, and utilized by these companies,” Racine said in a statement. “Significantly, this resolution also provides users with the ability and choice to opt of being tracked, as well as restrict the manner in which user information may be shared with third parties.”

Source: engadget.com