Sunday, May 5

News

Google gives Emergency Funds to 5,300 local Online News Organizations
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Google gives Emergency Funds to 5,300 local Online News Organizations

New York, May 29th, 2020: 5,300 small and medium local newsrooms around the world have been selected by Google to receive emergency funding from $5,000-$30,000 (approximately Rs 3.7 lakh-Rs 22.7 lakh). Covid-19 has upended the news industry, hitting local news particularly hard with job losses, furloughs, cutbacks, and even closure, Google said in a blog post. To provide some help, the Google News Initiative last month launched the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund. "Applications covering a number of publications under one organization will be capped at $85,000. As we await a final funding tally, we expect to spend tens of millions of dollars through the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund," said, Ludovic Blecher, Head of Google News Initiative Innovation. Google said in just two ...
Thierry Delaporte becomes new Wipro CEO and MD
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Thierry Delaporte becomes new Wipro CEO and MD

IT services major Wipro has appointed Capgemini Group veteran Thierry Delaporte as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective July 6, 2020. In January this year, the company had said its CEO and Managing Director Abidali Z Neemuchwala had decided to step down from the company. Abidali Neemuchwala will relinquish his position as CEO and MD on June 1. Rishad Premji will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company until July 5, Wipro said in a statement. "Until recently, Thierry Delaporte was the Chief Operating Officer of Capgemini Group and a member of its group executive board. During his 25 year career with Capgemini, he held several leadership roles," it said. He also oversaw Capgemini's India operations, and led the group's transformation agenda, ...
Livspace Lays off 450 employees due to impact from COVID-19
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Livspace Lays off 450 employees due to impact from COVID-19

Bengaluru-based Livspace, which is into home design and renovation, has laid off 450 employees 15 percent of its total workforce due to an adverse impact of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.  The decision to lay off was taken last week. Earlier this month, leading co-working operator WeWork India also announced laying off nearly 100 employees. Founded in 2015 by Ramakant Sharma and Anuj Srivastava, Livspace provides a three-sided marketplace and a design automation platform that connects homeowners, certified designers and vendors. Livspace uses data science-enabled algorithms to match homeowners with designers (based on style preferences, budget, scope of work and timelines). "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, like every business in the discretionary purchase sector, Livspace als...
Car Rental firm Hertz files for bankruptcy
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Car Rental firm Hertz files for bankruptcy

ESTERO, Fla., May 22, 2020-- Car rantel firm Hertz today announced that its U.S. and Canadian subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The impact of COVID-19 on travel demand was sudden and dramatic, causing an abrupt decline in the Company's revenue and future bookings. Hertz took immediate actions to prioritize the health and safety of employees and customers, eliminate all non-essential spending, and preserve liquidity. However, uncertainty remains as to when revenue will return, and when the used-car market will fully re-open for sales, which necessitated today's action.  The financial reorganization will provide Hertz a path toward a more robust financial structure that best po...
Swiggy to Lay off 1,100 employees, will give 3 months salary
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Swiggy to Lay off 1,100 employees, will give 3 months salary

Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy said it is laying off 1,100 employees across grades and functions in cities and the head office over the next few days due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic on its business, including cloud kitchens. In an email to all employees, SwiggyCo-founder & CEO Sriharsha Majety said, "Today is one of the saddest days for Swiggy as we have to go through an unfortunate downsizing exercise."COVID-19 has hit the company with a huge blow of uncertainty, forcing it to look even harder at its cost base and preparedness for the road ahead, he added. Giving the reasons for the laying off of 1,100 employees, Majety shared the management outlook and key business decisions that were reasons for this decision. The core food delivery business has been ...
Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Resign from Softbank board
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Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Resign from Softbank board

SoftBank Group Corp said that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son. The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba's executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. SoftBank will propose three new appointments to the board, including group Chief Financial Officer Yoshimoto Goto, at its annual general meeting on June 25. The number of board members will expand to 13. SoftBank will also propose the election of Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of chip design software firm Cadence Design Systems who is also chairman of venture capital firm Walden International, and Yuko Kawamoto, a professor at Waseda Business School as outside directors. Kawamoto will become...
LinkedIn Launched LinkedIn Live For Virtual Events
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LinkedIn Launched LinkedIn Live For Virtual Events

Professional networking platform LinkedIn announced global launch of a virtual events solution LinkedIn Live to enable companies to stay connected and strengthen relationships with their online communities in real time. Using LinkedIn Live, companies can now host virtual events by streaming live to event attendees, it said in a statement. This integration between LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Events helps companies to host live, real-time events in a trusted environment, attract the right professional audiences, drive strong reach and engagement, and get more mileage for their events with a dedicated hub for videos of the event on their Pages, the company said. In October 2019, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn Events globally and in March 2020, the platform enabled companies to create an ...
Airbnb lay off nearly 1,900 employees, about 25% workforce
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Airbnb lay off nearly 1,900 employees, about 25% workforce

Airbnb, an online marketplace for homestays said it has laid off near 1900 employees, about 25 percent of the workforce of the company. In a note sent to Airbnb employees, Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky said, "Out of our 7,500 Airbnb employees, nearly 1,900 teammates will have to leave Airbnb, comprising around 25% of our company. Since we cannot afford to do everything that we used to, these cuts had to be mapped to a more focused business. " These decisions are not a reflection of the work from people on these teams, and it does not mean everyone on these teams will be leaving us. Additionally, teams across all of Airbnb will be impacted. Many teams will be reduced in size based on how well they map to where Airbnb is headed, he added. Due to the Covid19, global travel ...
Gold’s Gym file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
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Gold’s Gym file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

GGI Holdings, LLC and its affiliates Gold’s Gym filed for relief under Chapter 11 in an effort to facilitate the financial restructuring of the company. CEO Adam Zeitsiff said the filing will ensure the company’s viability for decades.  The chain listed assets and liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million, according to its Chapter 11 petition filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas. The company has furloughed most of its 4,600 employees in response to the crisis, per court papers.  “Our focus is and always will be on our members around the world, and we look forward to welcoming them back as soon as it is safe for our members, team members and communities,” Zeitsiff said. “Gold’s Gym has been the world’s trusted fitness authority for more than 50 years, and we’re a...
Amazon worker at New York warehouse dies of COVID-19
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Amazon worker at New York warehouse dies of COVID-19

An Amazon worker at a warehouse in New York where employees called for greater coronavirus safety measures has died of COVID-19, the e-commerce giant said on Tuesday. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of an associate at our site in Staten Island, NY," Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski said in a statement emailed to AFP. "His family and loved ones are in our thoughts, and we are supporting his fellow colleagues," she added. Amazon has become a lifeline for consumers facing lockdowns and restrictions around the world, and the company is in the process of adding some 175,000 new employees to cope with the surging demand. But the company has also faced protests from warehouse workers and activists who claim Amazon has failed to do enough to keep them safe. More than a doze...
WhatsApp Video Call now supports up to 8 Participants
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WhatsApp Video Call now supports up to 8 Participants

WhatsApp will now allow up to eight people to connect on a group video call as an increasing number of people turn to digital platforms to connect with friends and family amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Facebook-owned company said over the last month, people on average are spending over 15 billion minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls, well above a typical day before the pandemic. "...we see that people all over the world are turning to voice and video calling on WhatsApp more than ever before. Group calling has been particularly useful and our users have asked to connect with more people at once," WhatsApp said in a blogpost. Starting Tuesday, the company is doubling the number of participants one can have on a WhatsApp video or voice call from 4 to 8 people at a time, it a...
Facebook Launched Messenger Kids With Parental Control
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Facebook Launched Messenger Kids With Parental Control

Facebook rolled out its Messenger Kids application to 70 new countries, saying it can help children deal with the challenges of distance learning and isolation during the virus lockdowns. The app, which is aimed at children under 13, will also be adding a "supervised friending" feature enabling parents to approve new connections, starting in the United States and gradually rolling out to other countries. "With schools closed and people physically distancing, parents are turning to technology more than ever to help their kids connect with friends and family," Facebook's global head of safety Antigone Davis said in a blog post. "Messenger Kids is a video chat and messaging app that helps kids connect with friends and family in a fun, parent-controlled space. Today, we're starting t...