Computer
Microsoft: Job cuts in tech sector spread, Microsoft lays off 10,000
Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees, or nearly 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies in slowing their pandemic-era expansions.
In a filing with the government on Wednesday, the company said that the layoffs were caused by “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.”
The software company, which is based in Redmond, Washington, also said that it was making changes to its hardware portfolio and combining its leased office locations.
With so many people working and studying from home, Microsoft is cutting far fewer jobs than it added during the COVID-19 pandemic as it responds to a surge in demand for its workplace software and cloud computing services.
“A large part of this is simply overeager hiring,” said Joshua White, a finance professor at Vanderbilt University.
Microsoft’s Staff Grew By 36%
In the two fiscal years after the outbreak, Microsoft’s staff grew by 36%, from 163,000 at the end of June 2020 to 221,000 in June 2022.
In an email to employees, CEO Satya Nadella said that the layoffs will affect “less than 5% of our total employee base,” and that some employees will find out today.
Nadella said, “We are cutting jobs in some areas, but we will keep hiring in key strategic areas.” He stressed how important it was to create a “new computer platform” based on advances in artificial intelligence.
Customers who increased their digital technology spending during the pandemic are now attempting to “optimize their digital spend to do more with less,” he said.
“We’re also seeing organizations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world experience a recession and others anticipate one,” Nadella wrote.
Lots Of Cuts In The Tech Sector
Other tech firms have also cut jobs amid concerns about an economic slowdown.
Amazon and the company that makes business software, Salesforce, both cut a lot of jobs earlier this month. They did this to cut back on payrolls that grew quickly during the pandemic lockdown.
Amazon has announced the elimination of approximately 18,000 jobs. The layoffs are the largest in the Seattle company’s history, though they represent only a small portion of its 1.5 million global workforces.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is laying off 11,000 employees, or roughly 13% of its workforce. And Elon Musk, the new CEO of Twitter, has reduced the company’s workforce.
When Nadella spoke at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, he did not directly mention the layoffs.
Finding A Balance After Covid
When the forum’s founder, Klaus Schwab, asked what the tech layoffs meant for the industry’s business model, Nadella stated that companies that boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic are now seeing “normalization” of that demand.
“Quite frankly, we in the technology industry will have to become more efficient, right?” According to Nadella. “It’s not about doing more with less than everyone else. We’ll have to make do with less. So we’ll have to demonstrate our productivity gains using our technology.”
Microsoft refused to comment on where the layoffs and office closures would be concentrated. On Wednesday, the company told employment officials in Washington state that it was firing 878 people from its offices in Redmond and the nearby cities of Bellevue and Issaquah.
It employed 122,000 people in the United States and 99,000 elsewhere as of June.
A Rapid Rise In Interest Rates
According to Vanderbilt professor White, all industries are looking to cut costs ahead of a possible recession, but tech companies may be especially sensitive to the rapid rise in interest rates, a tool that the Federal Reserve has used aggressively in recent months in its fight against inflation.
“This hits tech companies a little harder than industrials or consumer staples because a large portion of Microsoft’s value is on projects with cash flows that won’t pay off for several years,” he explained.
One of these projects is Microsoft’s recent investment in its startup partner in San Francisco, OpenAI, which makes the writing tool ChatGPT and other AI systems that can make readable text, images, and computer code.
Microsoft, which owns the Xbox game division, is also dealing with regulatory uncertainty in the United States and Europe, delaying its planned $68.7 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, which had approximately 9,800 employees a year ago.
SOURCE – (AP)
Computer
Actor Ian McKellen, 85, Is In ‘Good Spirits’ And Expected To Recover From Fall Off Stage In London
LONDON — Actor Ian McKellen is expected to recover fully after falling from a London stage during a fight scene and being hospitalized, according to producers.
According to a representative for the Noel Coward Theatre production, McKellen, 85, was in “good spirits” after medics indicated a scan showed he was likely to recover completely following his fall on Monday night.
Ian Mckellen | AP news Image
Actor Ian McKellen, 85, Is In ‘Good Spirits’ And Expected To Recover From Fall Off Stage In London
According to producers, McKellen’s Tuesday performance was canceled, but he was anticipated to return to the stage on Wednesday.
The stage and screen veteran, who played Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” movie, yelled out in pain following the fall, according to a BBC correspondent at the theatre.
McKellen was cast as the rogue John Falstaff in “Player Kings,” a Robert Icke-directed dramatization of William Shakespeare’s two “Henry IV” history plays.
Ian Mckellen | AP news Image
Actor Ian McKellen, 85, Is In ‘Good Spirits’ And Expected To Recover From Fall Off Stage In London
McKellen lost his balance and fell off the stage in a scene with Toheeb Jimoh’s Prince Hal and Samuel Edward-Cook’s Henry Percy, which surprised the audience.
“Sir Ian seemed to trip as he moved downstage to take a more active part in the scene,” audience member Paul Critchley told the PA news agency, describing it as a surprise. “He picked up momentum as he moved downstage which resulted in him falling off the stage directly in front of the audience.”
Staff and two medics in the audience assisted the actor, according to a statement from the theatre.
The theatre was evacuated, and the play was canceled.
Ian McKellen | AP News Image
Actor Ian McKellen, 85, Is In ‘Good Spirits’ And Expected To Recover From Fall Off Stage In London
McKellen, who played Magneto in the “X-Men” films, is a well-known Shakespearean actor in Britain, having performed in Richard III, Macbeth, and King Lear.
He has received a Tony Award (for “Amadeus”), six Olivier Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards, five Emmys, and several BAFTA awards.
SOURCE – (AP)
Aegis Space Law is providing a free online Space Regulatory Calculator to help US businesses negotiate the complex regulatory landscape.
The Space Regulatory Calculator, which was unveiled on June 4, is intended to assist early-stage space companies in complying with space-related regulations issued by the Commerce Department, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the State Department.
“Aegis works with a lot of space startups,” Bailey Reichelt, Aegis Space Law’s partner and co-founder, told SpaceNews via email. “The common denominator is that they don’t consider regulations as something to plan for until they have the engineering and financing in place. Unfortunately, regulatory timelines can be significantly longer than other timelines.”
Reichelt, who developed the Space Regulatory Calculator with Aegis colleague Will Lewis, advises founders to consider regulatory permission as soon as they start designing space technology and seeking funds “to maximize the chances of that business succeeding.”
Costly mistakes
Failure to address regulations early in the planning process might result in costly and time-consuming mistakes. For example, a satellite company may choose a foreign antenna array based on its cost and ground-station compatibility, unaware that the operating frequency would entail “a lengthy and expensive regulatory burden,” Reichelt said.
Furthermore, federal acquisition regulations governing current contracts may prohibit the use of foreign-sourced components.
“This kind of setback happens all the time when you have no idea what regulations apply to you,” Reichelt stated.
Legal Advice
Traditionally, space corporations used attorneys to identify which restrictions related to their operations. Many new space enterprises cannot afford “the sophisticated legal advice required to navigate this many agencies,” Reichelt stated.
“This leaves companies vulnerable to missteps that can cost time and money.” Mistakes in regulatory compliance can potentially jeopardize the firm’s or mission’s viability, she said.
It is “entirely unreasonable for a company with no cash flow to spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers before they even have paid employees,” Reichelt stated.
“If we want the space industry to prosper, and the United States’ technological sector to continue leading innovation globally, we must lower legal and regulatory hurdles across the board.
The Space Law Calculator is intended to assist entrepreneurs in determining what kind of licenses and permissions they will require, how long the approval process will typically take, and what costs they will incur to assure regulatory compliance.
“A small business looking to launch its first satellite, for example, would see, among other things, that it may need to plan at least two years in advance to ensure required licenses are obtained prior to launch,” according to the announcement.
Aegis attorneys want to update the Space Regulatory Calculator when regulations change.
Attorneys from Aegis Space Law in Washington contributed to the formation of the nonprofit Association of Commercial Space Professionals. Additionally, Aegis attorneys teach at the Association’s Space Regulatory Bootcamp.
By Debra Werner
Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She… More by Debra Werner
NEW YORK — The Associated Press was informed by Live Nation executives that Jennifer Lopez has canceled her 2024 North American tour.
They said, “Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family, and close friends.”
Jennifer Lopez | NBC News Image
Jennifer Lopez Cancels Summer Tour: ‘I Am Completely Heartsick And Devastated’
In support of her first solo album in ten years, “This Is Me… Now,” and its accompanying film, she was scheduled to embark on her first tour in five years.
The tour was supposed to begin in Orlando, Florida on June 26 and end in Houston on August 31.
Jennifer Lopez | AP News Image
Jennifer Lopez Cancels Summer Tour: ‘I Am Completely Heartsick And Devastated’
Those who bought tickets through Ticketmaster will receive an immediate refund, according to a statement from Live Nation.
On her OntheJLo website and newsletter, Lopez addressed the fans with the following statement: “I am completely heartsick and devastated about letting you down.” Please understand that if I didn’t think this was absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t have done it.
Jennifer Lopez | Billboard Image
Jennifer Lopez Cancels Summer Tour: ‘I Am Completely Heartsick And Devastated’
Her successful album “This Is Me… Then” was released twenty years ago, and this year, she released “This Is Me… Now.” According to Lopez, the new record is a “miracle” and “a second chance,” as she told the AP. And I wish I could freeze this instant in time the same way that album did.
SOURCE – (AP)
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