Adobe’s plans for Toronto, Uber's London battle, and more top news

The news Canadian professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation on today's stories in the comments.

Adobe is planning to open shop in Canada. The Silicon Valley tech company looks set to open an artificial intelligence lab in Toronto, and has started to advertise positions there. Other tech giants such as Facebook, Uber, Microsoft and Alphabet have opened AI labs in Canada or revealed plans to do so. Canada has attracted AI talent from the U.S. for those “preferring the political and/or research-funding climate,” according to The Globe and Mail. Fast Company listed Adobe in its “10 most innovative companies in the AI space.” ? Here’s what people are saying.

Uber will appear in court Monday in a bid to stay operational in London — its biggest European market. Representatives for the ride-hailing giant are appealing the loss of its operator’s license after it was revoked by the city’s transport regulator last September; reasons cited included passenger safety, the company’s failure to report drivers’ criminal activities, and its use of tracking technology. Uber will now have to prove it has made substantial changes in a case that will have ramifications for its entire business. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Fast-food restaurants are turning to robots because they can’t find enough humans, reports The Wall Street Journal. Chains such as CaliBurger, Dunkin’ Donuts and Saladworks are looking to automation to help overcome the tight labor market; April saw 844,000 unfilled positions in the hospitality sector, and unemployment levels for restaurant workers sit at a record low of 6%. The rise in robotics isn’t affecting the number of hospitality workers being employed, however — hiring is up, with a rate of 18.4 workers per establishment compared to 17.4 in 2007. ? Here’s what people are saying.

General Electric announced the sale of its distributed power business to Advent International for $3.25 billion. The sell-off is part of CEO John Flannery’s plan to streamline the struggling company, which was removed from the Dow last week after more than a century. Profits from GE’s power division plunged 45% last year. ? Here’s what people are saying.

?Netflix Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Friedland has been fired by CEO Reed Hastings after he used a racial slur multiple times. Although the word was apparently never directed at anyone, Friedland reportedly used it in several different incidences. He admitted on Twitter that he fell short of standard by not just referring to it. Netflix has engaged outside experts to help the company with issues surrounding diversity and inclusion, according to Hastings. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: If you suddenly find yourself out of a job, you may need to tap into your professional network to get your next one. It’s important to keep those connections going before you reach that point, writes sales enablement manager Matt Cohen in a post about what he learned from being laid off.

“In order to be ready when the unexpected happens, you need to build and maintain your network when you don’t need them.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

— Carmel Melouney and Jessica Hartogs