Month: January 2024
Meta’s Free Code Llama AI Programming Tool Closes the Gap With GPT-4
Meta’s latest update to its code generation AI model, Code Llama 70B, is “the largest and best-performing model” yet. From a report: Code Llama tools launched in August and are free for both research and commercial use. According to a post on Meta’s AI blog, Code Llama 70B can handle more queries than previous versions, which means developers can feed it more prompts while programming, and it can be more accurate.
Code Llama 70B scored 53 percent in accuracy on the HumanEval benchmark, performing better than GPT-3.5’s 48.1 percent and closer to the 67 percent mark an OpenAI paper (PDF) reported for GPT-4. Built on Llama 2, Code Llama helps developers create strings of code from prompts and debug human-written work. Meta simultaneously launched two other Code Llama tools last fall, Code Llama — Python and Code Llama — Instruct, which focused on specific coding languages.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Meta’s latest update to its code generation AI model, Code Llama 70B, is “the largest and best-performing model” yet. From a report: Code Llama tools launched in August and are free for both research and commercial use. According to a post on Meta’s AI blog, Code Llama 70B can handle more queries than previous versions, which means developers can feed it more prompts while programming, and it can be more accurate.
Code Llama 70B scored 53 percent in accuracy on the HumanEval benchmark, performing better than GPT-3.5’s 48.1 percent and closer to the 67 percent mark an OpenAI paper (PDF) reported for GPT-4. Built on Llama 2, Code Llama helps developers create strings of code from prompts and debug human-written work. Meta simultaneously launched two other Code Llama tools last fall, Code Llama — Python and Code Llama — Instruct, which focused on specific coding languages.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
If you have an Arlo camera or video doorbell, it’s about to get more expensive
Arlo’s cloud subscription plan for a single camera or video doorbell is increasing to $7.99 a month. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
In more “things are just getting expensive” news, the Arlo Secure subscription service is climbing. Again. This time, it’s going from $4.99 to $7.99 for a single camera or video doorbell. This 60 percent price hike comes on the heels of an increase early last year from $2.99 to $4.99.
According to an email sent to single-camera users from Arlo and posted on Reddit, the change is “due to increasing costs and investment in developing innovative solutions.” The updated plans are now live on Arlo’s site, and the lowest-tier Arlo Secure plan, which includes 30 days of cloud storage and smart alerts for people, pets, packages, and vehicles, costs $7.99 monthly for one camera.
If you have multiple Arlo cameras, the subscription costs $12.99 a month. That subscription didn’t go up this time — it increased from $9.99 last year. There’s still the option to pay annually, now for $89.99 a year for one camera, up from $59.99, or $149.99 a year for unlimited cameras. According to the email, users will be automatically charged the new fee unless they change or cancel their plan, but TechHive reports that existing users are being offered the option to pay the old $59.99 price to lock in their existing rate for a year.
Screenshot by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Arlo Secure’s cheapest plan just got more expensive.
Considering Arlo’s cameras once came with a free seven days of cloud storage, this is a huge increase. Even if you bought a video doorbell in 2022 and were paying $2.99 monthly for it, you’re now paying more than double that.
One way around this is to use an Arlo Smart Hub, which starts at $99 and can record video for some Arlo cameras locally. Unfortunately, you lose smart alerts for people, pets, packages, and vehicles, the ability to add activity zones to the camera, and other software features accessible in the Arlo app.
Arlo
An Arlo Pro 4 security camera.
This move feels designed to push existing customers toward Arlo’s new products, including its new $199 smart security system, as there’s better value the more Arlo you have.
Arlo launched the Arlo Home Security System — a DIY system that can be professionally monitored — last year, and the top-tier Arlo plan, Safe & Secure Pro, covers all your cameras and professional monitoring for the system for $24.99 a month. That’s pricey versus the single-camera plan, but unlike the single-camera plan, there’s significantly more value —recording for unlimited cameras and professional monitoring (although you’d have to buy more hardware).
Arlo recently launched the Arlo Total Security package, where you can get that hardware without paying anything upfront. For $49.99 a month, it comes with two cameras and the security system, along with all the Arlo Safe & Secure Pro features (including professional monitoring). This package type is similar to those offered by traditional home security companies, where you pay no money upfront but are locked into a rate until you pay off the hardware.
But for someone who just wants to see recordings from their single Arlo camera or doorbell, they’ll either have to cough up or move on.
Arlo’s cloud subscription plan for a single camera or video doorbell is increasing to $7.99 a month. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
In more “things are just getting expensive” news, the Arlo Secure subscription service is climbing. Again. This time, it’s going from $4.99 to $7.99 for a single camera or video doorbell. This 60 percent price hike comes on the heels of an increase early last year from $2.99 to $4.99.
According to an email sent to single-camera users from Arlo and posted on Reddit, the change is “due to increasing costs and investment in developing innovative solutions.” The updated plans are now live on Arlo’s site, and the lowest-tier Arlo Secure plan, which includes 30 days of cloud storage and smart alerts for people, pets, packages, and vehicles, costs $7.99 monthly for one camera.
If you have multiple Arlo cameras, the subscription costs $12.99 a month. That subscription didn’t go up this time — it increased from $9.99 last year. There’s still the option to pay annually, now for $89.99 a year for one camera, up from $59.99, or $149.99 a year for unlimited cameras. According to the email, users will be automatically charged the new fee unless they change or cancel their plan, but TechHive reports that existing users are being offered the option to pay the old $59.99 price to lock in their existing rate for a year.
Screenshot by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Arlo Secure’s cheapest plan just got more expensive.
Considering Arlo’s cameras once came with a free seven days of cloud storage, this is a huge increase. Even if you bought a video doorbell in 2022 and were paying $2.99 monthly for it, you’re now paying more than double that.
One way around this is to use an Arlo Smart Hub, which starts at $99 and can record video for some Arlo cameras locally. Unfortunately, you lose smart alerts for people, pets, packages, and vehicles, the ability to add activity zones to the camera, and other software features accessible in the Arlo app.
Arlo
An Arlo Pro 4 security camera.
This move feels designed to push existing customers toward Arlo’s new products, including its new $199 smart security system, as there’s better value the more Arlo you have.
Arlo launched the Arlo Home Security System — a DIY system that can be professionally monitored — last year, and the top-tier Arlo plan, Safe & Secure Pro, covers all your cameras and professional monitoring for the system for $24.99 a month. That’s pricey versus the single-camera plan, but unlike the single-camera plan, there’s significantly more value —recording for unlimited cameras and professional monitoring (although you’d have to buy more hardware).
Arlo recently launched the Arlo Total Security package, where you can get that hardware without paying anything upfront. For $49.99 a month, it comes with two cameras and the security system, along with all the Arlo Safe & Secure Pro features (including professional monitoring). This package type is similar to those offered by traditional home security companies, where you pay no money upfront but are locked into a rate until you pay off the hardware.
But for someone who just wants to see recordings from their single Arlo camera or doorbell, they’ll either have to cough up or move on.
Lawsuit: Citibank refused to reimburse scam victims who lost “life savings”
Citibank’s poor security helped scammers steal millions, NY AG’s lawsuit says.
Enlarge / The Citibank logo on a bank in New York City in January 2024.
Citibank has illegally refused to reimburse scam victims who lost money due partly to Citibank’s poor online security practices, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged in a lawsuit filed today in US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“The lawsuit alleges that Citi does not implement strong online protections to stop unauthorized account takeovers, misleads account holders about their rights after their accounts are hacked and funds are stolen, and illegally denies reimbursement to victims of fraud,” James’ office said in a press release.
The AG’s office alleged that Citi customers “have lost their life savings, their children’s college funds, or even money needed to support their day-to-day lives as a result of Citi’s illegal and deceptive acts and practices.”
Neuralink’s Brain Chip Is Now in a Human. Your Skull Is Safe, for Now – CNET
It’ll be a long time before limited trials of a brain-machine interface progress to broader medical use, much less to Elon Musk’s dream of a digital mind meld with AI.
It’ll be a long time before limited trials of a brain-machine interface progress to broader medical use, much less to Elon Musk’s dream of a digital mind meld with AI.
Japan finally gives up on 1.44MB floppy disk drives, 50 years after they went on sale — but there’s no sign of Microsoft removing the iconic ‘Save’ floppy icon from Office just yet
Japanese government will no longer insist on its data being stored on floppy disks or CD-Roms.
Even though floppy disks have long since gone the way of the dodo, the ghost of the ancient recording media still haunts the digital world. As a great example, when you go to save a file in Microsoft Office, you’ll see the save icon still appears as a floppy disk, even though there’s a good chance you’ll be saving your content in cloud storage, rather than to a slow, clunky plastic square with extremely limited storage capacity.
Japan is known for being at the forefront of technology, but the country’s government is still somewhat reliant on floppy disks.
As reported by Tom’s Hardware, there were about 1,900 official governmental application procedures that stipulated businesses must submit floppies or CD-Roms (specifically) containing supplementary data until last week. Finally, however, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is looking to abandon this outdated practice.
Updating the rules
METI has issued a “Ministerial Ordinance to Amend Some of the METI Ordinances for Promoting Regulatory Reforms to Foster a Digital Society”, which aims to review and update rules that dictate the use of obsolete media like floppy disks. According to PC Watch, this initiative is part of a broader review of analog regulations (digital principles) across various ministries, spearheaded by the Digital Agency.
The current law not only mandates the use of outdated recording media, but it also leaves ambiguity about whether cloud-based actions – such as creating and saving documents online – are even permitted.
It’s astonishing that it has taken this long for the Japanese government to take action, but METI is finally on the case. In an effort to modernize the regulations, it will eliminate any references to specific media types like “floppy disk” or “CD-Rom” and replace them with more contemporary terms, such as “electromagnetic recording media.”
This move follows a series of initiatives in Japan aimed at reducing dependence on outdated technology, but it is proving to be somewhat challenging. For instance, the fax machine continues to be widely used in the land of the rising sun. A survey conducted in May 2022 revealed that 54% of companies were still utilizing this antiquated mode of communication.
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Microsoft’s Surface devices down again in Q2 earnings as Xbox picks up Activision revenue
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Microsoft just posted the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $62 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q2. Revenue is up 18 percent, and net income has increased by 33 percent.
This is the first quarter Microsoft is reporting earnings as a $3 trillion company and also the first time the company has reported additional revenue from its Activision Blizzard acquisition. While Office and cloud revenue remain strong, devices revenue from Surface sales has continued to decline this quarter, with Windows bouncing back after a slow period for the PC market.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The Surface Laptop Studio 2.
Microsoft did warn that devices revenue would decline against this quarter, and it’s down 9 percent. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said “PC market unit volumes were at roughly pre-pandemic levels,” so it’s likely that Surface simply hasn’t recovered as well. That’s despite Microsoft launching its new Surface Laptop Studio 2, Surface Laptop Go 3, and even a Surface Go 4 late last year. Microsoft’s devices revenue also includes HoloLens and PC accessories, and revenue has been declining for more than 12 months now.
Windows is doing better, though. OEM revenue, the price that PC manufacturers pay Microsoft to put Windows on laptops and PCs, is up 11 percent this quarter. Windows OEM revenue has suffered throughout Microsoft’s entire 2023 fiscal year, but this is now two consecutive quarters of growth compared to five consecutive quarters of declines for devices revenue.
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
Xbox Series S / X devices.
Speaking of devices, all eyes are on the Microsoft Gaming division for the company’s latest earnings. Microsoft is now reporting Activision Blizzard revenue as part of its gaming unit, bolstering overall revenues in Xbox content.
Xbox content and services revenue, which includes Xbox Game Pass, is up by a massive 61 percent. That’s largely because of the Activision Blizzard revenues, so it’s difficult to understand immediately how Xbox did without this giant addition.
Microsoft says the net impact from the Activision Blizzard acquisition is just over $2 billion in revenue, but the cost of integration, transaction costs, and other costs of revenue all total $930 million. With other operating expenses ($1.59 billion) it works out to an operating loss of $440 million.
We’ll need more guidance from Microsoft on what the next quarter of Activision Blizzard earnings will look like, particularly as Microsoft continues to integrate the company into the broader Microsoft Gaming division. While the Activision Blizzard acquisition is complete, Microsoft laid off 1,900 workers in its gaming division earlier this month — primarily affecting Activision Blizzard employees. Microsoft has also been overhauling its Xbox management in recent months and even named a new Blizzard president earlier this week.
Xbox hardware is also up by 3 percent, after the all-important holiday quarter. Microsoft ran a number of Xbox Series X promotions during the holidays in the US, but that doesn’t appear to have resulted in a big boost in sales and revenue. Overall Microsoft gaming revenue is up 49 percent, mainly boosted by Activision Blizzard revenues.
Once again, there are no fresh Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers. Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass had grown to 25 million subscribers in January 2022, but we haven’t had an update for two years now. Nadella did reveal in last quarter’s earnings call that Starfield had contributed to Xbox Game Pass growth. “On launch, we set a record for the most Game Pass subscriptions added on a single day ever,” he said.
Image: Microsoft
Microsoft’s Office sales are still going strong in the cloud.
Microsoft’s Office division is once again performing well, with productivity and business processes total revenue up 13 percent year-over-year. This was mainly driven by Office 365, with commercial seat growth up 9 percent.
Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers have now reached 78.4 million, nearly 16 percent up year-over-year. Microsoft launched a $1.99 a month Microsoft 365 Basic subscription last year, which continues to boost overall numbers of subscribers.
Office commercial products and cloud services revenue also grew by 15 percent year over year thanks to Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 17 percent. That means Microsoft ended this quarter with more than 400 million Office 365 paid commercial seats, a clear sign that the company continues to convert businesses to cloud-powered versions of Office.
Microsoft has also been selling Copilot for Microsoft 365 in recent months, but the company isn’t detailing how selling AI add-ons is impacting its revenue, though. “We’ve moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale,” says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in the company’s earnings release. “By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we’re winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector.”
The bigger impact for Microsoft’s AI ambitions will come from its server-side investments with Azure OpenAI. “Azure and other cloud services was up 30 percent year-over-year… those growth rates include a six point contribution from our AI services,” says James Ambrose, Microsoft’s director of investor relations, in a call with The Verge.
Microsoft’s overall intelligent cloud business generated $25.9 billion in revenue this quarter, a 20 percent year-over-year increase. Most of that revenue was driven by Azure.
Microsoft will now hold an earnings call at 5:30PM ET / 3:30PM PT. We’ll update this article with Microsoft’s guidance for the next quarter and any comments on this quarter.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Microsoft just posted the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $62 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q2. Revenue is up 18 percent, and net income has increased by 33 percent.
This is the first quarter Microsoft is reporting earnings as a $3 trillion company and also the first time the company has reported additional revenue from its Activision Blizzard acquisition. While Office and cloud revenue remain strong, devices revenue from Surface sales has continued to decline this quarter, with Windows bouncing back after a slow period for the PC market.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The Surface Laptop Studio 2.
Microsoft did warn that devices revenue would decline against this quarter, and it’s down 9 percent. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said “PC market unit volumes were at roughly pre-pandemic levels,” so it’s likely that Surface simply hasn’t recovered as well. That’s despite Microsoft launching its new Surface Laptop Studio 2, Surface Laptop Go 3, and even a Surface Go 4 late last year. Microsoft’s devices revenue also includes HoloLens and PC accessories, and revenue has been declining for more than 12 months now.
Windows is doing better, though. OEM revenue, the price that PC manufacturers pay Microsoft to put Windows on laptops and PCs, is up 11 percent this quarter. Windows OEM revenue has suffered throughout Microsoft’s entire 2023 fiscal year, but this is now two consecutive quarters of growth compared to five consecutive quarters of declines for devices revenue.
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge
Xbox Series S / X devices.
Speaking of devices, all eyes are on the Microsoft Gaming division for the company’s latest earnings. Microsoft is now reporting Activision Blizzard revenue as part of its gaming unit, bolstering overall revenues in Xbox content.
Xbox content and services revenue, which includes Xbox Game Pass, is up by a massive 61 percent. That’s largely because of the Activision Blizzard revenues, so it’s difficult to understand immediately how Xbox did without this giant addition.
Microsoft says the net impact from the Activision Blizzard acquisition is just over $2 billion in revenue, but the cost of integration, transaction costs, and other costs of revenue all total $930 million. With other operating expenses ($1.59 billion) it works out to an operating loss of $440 million.
We’ll need more guidance from Microsoft on what the next quarter of Activision Blizzard earnings will look like, particularly as Microsoft continues to integrate the company into the broader Microsoft Gaming division. While the Activision Blizzard acquisition is complete, Microsoft laid off 1,900 workers in its gaming division earlier this month — primarily affecting Activision Blizzard employees. Microsoft has also been overhauling its Xbox management in recent months and even named a new Blizzard president earlier this week.
Xbox hardware is also up by 3 percent, after the all-important holiday quarter. Microsoft ran a number of Xbox Series X promotions during the holidays in the US, but that doesn’t appear to have resulted in a big boost in sales and revenue. Overall Microsoft gaming revenue is up 49 percent, mainly boosted by Activision Blizzard revenues.
Once again, there are no fresh Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers. Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass had grown to 25 million subscribers in January 2022, but we haven’t had an update for two years now. Nadella did reveal in last quarter’s earnings call that Starfield had contributed to Xbox Game Pass growth. “On launch, we set a record for the most Game Pass subscriptions added on a single day ever,” he said.
Image: Microsoft
Microsoft’s Office sales are still going strong in the cloud.
Microsoft’s Office division is once again performing well, with productivity and business processes total revenue up 13 percent year-over-year. This was mainly driven by Office 365, with commercial seat growth up 9 percent.
Microsoft 365 Consumer subscribers have now reached 78.4 million, nearly 16 percent up year-over-year. Microsoft launched a $1.99 a month Microsoft 365 Basic subscription last year, which continues to boost overall numbers of subscribers.
Office commercial products and cloud services revenue also grew by 15 percent year over year thanks to Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 17 percent. That means Microsoft ended this quarter with more than 400 million Office 365 paid commercial seats, a clear sign that the company continues to convert businesses to cloud-powered versions of Office.
Microsoft has also been selling Copilot for Microsoft 365 in recent months, but the company isn’t detailing how selling AI add-ons is impacting its revenue, though. “We’ve moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale,” says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in the company’s earnings release. “By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we’re winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector.”
The bigger impact for Microsoft’s AI ambitions will come from its server-side investments with Azure OpenAI. “Azure and other cloud services was up 30 percent year-over-year… those growth rates include a six point contribution from our AI services,” says James Ambrose, Microsoft’s director of investor relations, in a call with The Verge.
Microsoft’s overall intelligent cloud business generated $25.9 billion in revenue this quarter, a 20 percent year-over-year increase. Most of that revenue was driven by Azure.
Microsoft will now hold an earnings call at 5:30PM ET / 3:30PM PT. We’ll update this article with Microsoft’s guidance for the next quarter and any comments on this quarter.
Block is reportedly laying off around 1,000 workers
Block is the latest notable tech company to lay off hundreds of workers, according to reports. CEO Jack Dorsey is said to have informed employees that the company is firing a “large number” of them, with Cash App, Square and the foundational (i.e. operations) teams bearing the brunt of the impact. According to a Business Insider source, Block is letting go nearly 1,000 people.
Dorsey reportedly wrote in his memo that the company is becoming leaner. It laid off around 40 people from the Tidal team in December. Last year, Block said it planned to limit its headcount to around 12,000 workers, a reduction from the around 13,000 it had in late 2023. Engadget has contacted Block for confirmation of the layoffs.
While it was initially expected that the layoffs would take place over a period of months, executives reportedly opted against that in favor carrying them out at the same time. “Why is so much happening in one single day? All of these teams were confident in the direction they’re taking, and were ready to take action within the same 2-3 weeks,” Dorsey is said to have written in his memo. “We decided it would be better to do [it] at once rather than arbitrarily space them out, which didn’t seem fair to the individuals or to the company. When we know we need to take an action, we want to take it immediately, rather than let things linger on forever.”
The tech industry has shed tens of thousands of workers over the last year or so, including thousands this month alone across companies including Unity, Twitch, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, eBay and Google. It also emerged on Tuesday that PayPal is firing around 2,500 people. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/block-is-reportedly-laying-off-around-1000-workers-205319045.html?src=rss
Block is the latest notable tech company to lay off hundreds of workers, according to reports. CEO Jack Dorsey is said to have informed employees that the company is firing a “large number” of them, with Cash App, Square and the foundational (i.e. operations) teams bearing the brunt of the impact. According to a Business Insider source, Block is letting go nearly 1,000 people.
Dorsey reportedly wrote in his memo that the company is becoming leaner. It laid off around 40 people from the Tidal team in December. Last year, Block said it planned to limit its headcount to around 12,000 workers, a reduction from the around 13,000 it had in late 2023. Engadget has contacted Block for confirmation of the layoffs.
While it was initially expected that the layoffs would take place over a period of months, executives reportedly opted against that in favor carrying them out at the same time. “Why is so much happening in one single day? All of these teams were confident in the direction they’re taking, and were ready to take action within the same 2-3 weeks,” Dorsey is said to have written in his memo. “We decided it would be better to do [it] at once rather than arbitrarily space them out, which didn’t seem fair to the individuals or to the company. When we know we need to take an action, we want to take it immediately, rather than let things linger on forever.”
The tech industry has shed tens of thousands of workers over the last year or so, including thousands this month alone across companies including Unity, Twitch, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, eBay and Google. It also emerged on Tuesday that PayPal is firing around 2,500 people.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/block-is-reportedly-laying-off-around-1000-workers-205319045.html?src=rss
PayPal joins tech layoff wave with major workforce reduction
PayPal is set to layoff approximately 9% of its workforce, a move announced by CEO Alex Chriss in a recent
The post PayPal joins tech layoff wave with major workforce reduction appeared first on ReadWrite.
PayPal is set to layoff approximately 9% of its workforce, a move announced by CEO Alex Chriss in a recent letter to staff, as per a recent Bloomberg report. This decision comes as the company faces increasing competition, profit pressures, and a series of analyst downgrades. The layoffs, which will affect about 2,500 employees, are part of Chriss’s strategy to streamline the company and enhance its agility and profitability.
Chriss, who took the reins at PayPal in September, emphasized the need to “right-size” the organization through both direct cuts and the elimination of open roles. This restructuring aims to enable PayPal to respond more swiftly to customer needs and foster profitable growth. The company, which had around 29,900 employees at the end of 2022, had previously executed a similar round of layoffs in January of the same year.
PayPal’s shares have seen a significant decline, dropping over 20% in the past year amid faltering earnings and lowered guidance for its full-year adjusted operating margin. The appointment of Chriss as CEO was a response to these challenges, as he replaced former CEO Dan Schulman.
The payments giant, once a pioneer in the industry, now grapples with stiff competition from entities like Apple Inc. and Zelle. This competitive landscape has led to at least four analysts downgrading PayPal’s stock this month, citing concerns ranging from increased rivalry to profitability pressures.
On the third-quarter earnings call, Chriss acknowledged the company’s “cost base and complex structure” as impediments to progress. He has committed to addressing these issues to improve PayPal’s operating leverage. The company, based in San Jose, California, is expected to report its fourth-quarter results in the coming week.
Chriss’s tenure so far has been marked by a reshuffling of leadership roles and a clear intent to streamline operations, which had expanded significantly during the pandemic. This move mirrors actions by other companies in the sector, such as Block Inc., which also announced job cuts as part of its workforce reduction plan.
Layoffs across the industry
The recent layoffs at PayPal are part of a broader trend of workforce reductions across the tech industry. Several major companies, including Google and Microsoft, have also announced significant job cuts, reflecting the challenges faced by the sector in the current economic climate.
Google, one of the tech giants, has recently initiated layoffs affecting hundreds of employees. The decision comes as the company navigates through a period of economic uncertainty and shifting market demands. This move by Google is indicative of the broader industry trend where companies are reassessing their workforce needs in response to changing business environments.
Similarly, Microsoft has announced plans to lay off approximately 1,900 employees, impacting its Xbox and Activision Blizzard divisions. This decision is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to streamline operations and focus on key growth areas, particularly as the company integrates the newly acquired Activision Blizzard. The layoffs at Microsoft underscore the challenges faced by even the largest players in the tech industry as they adapt to a rapidly evolving market.
The post PayPal joins tech layoff wave with major workforce reduction appeared first on ReadWrite.