Job cuts for Volkswagen and AOL; A self-driving car partnership bites the dust, and more news.
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Volkswagen is cutting 30,000 jobs by 2021. The company will reduce its workforce by about 5% and slash $3.9 billion in costs. The cuts, part of an agreement with labor unions, were “a prerequisite for Volkswagen’s plans to push ahead with investment in new models and upgrading factories,” explains Bloomberg. VW hopes to shift production from its scandal-ridden diesel cars and toward new technologies like electric vehicles.
AOL is also cutting 5% of its workforce. It will lay off 500 employees, restructuring the company to focus on mobile, video, and data. The cuts aren’t related to Verizon’s Yahoo purchase, although if the $4.8 billion deal goes through there would likely be additional changes and consolidation. “The best way for us to grow is to move in front of change rather than be moved by change,” Tim Armstrong wrote in a memo to employees.
Airbnb is a modern travel agency. The San Francisco-based company has unveiled Trips, a new feature that “pushes Airbnb well past its couch-surfing origins.” The service lets you book activities and find off-the-beaten-path attractions. This diversification “could be important to the company's continued growth as it faces a regulatory crackdown across the globe,” says Reuters.
Baidu and BMW will end their joint research on self-driving cars. "We now have found that the development pace and the ideas of the two companies are a little different," said BMW China CEO Olaf Kastner. Baidu is now using Ford’s Lincoln in its US testing and is looking for a new research partner.
The latest additions to Team Trump: President-elect Trump has reportedly tapped Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA chief, Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, and General Michael Flynn for national security adviser. The announcements are expected to be made this morning.
Cover Photo: The Volkswagen logo as well as a banner that reads: 'We need transparency, openness, energy and courage. And above all we need: you.' adorns the main heating plant at the Volkswagen factory on November 12, 2015 in Wolfsburg, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Confidential
8 年THE GLOBAL TAKEOVER HAS BEGUN They are now about to take even the Slave Labour Jobs Away from You. Few, if any, grasp the profound consequences of Human Job Losses that will occur with advancements in, and encroachments by, Algorithms, Machine Learning and AI, on the traditional Human Workforce and the traditional Workplace. Google "Luddite Rebellion" 1811-1816, infamously known as the "Industrial Revolution" with good reason. Skilled Workers and Artisans protesting the sudden arbitrary loss of their livelihoods, were brutally and ruthlessly put down by force. "Official History" and factual real "Truth", seldom mix. Humanity faces an ominous future of Drones, Clones & Chimera controlled by an all seeing AI - In a World of Programs making Programs and Machines making Machines, You have been reduced to a Number, judged by an algorithm, and AI is god.
Industrial Designer l Product Solutions |Simulation Engineering I Product Engineering Architecture |Creative Design |
8 年I still dont understand why these technical fusions expect a unique outcome to be honest ..why would two disperate Regimes produce a innovative third type?
Confidential
8 年Few, if any, grasp the profound consequences of Human Job Losses that will occur with advancements in, and encroachments by, Algorithms, Machine Learning and AI, on the traditional Human Workforce and the traditional Workplace. Google "Luddite Rebellion" 1811-1816, infamously known as the "Industrial Revolution" with good reason. Skilled Workers and Artisans protesting the sudden arbitrary loss of their livelihoods, were brutally put down by force. "Official History" and factual real "Truth", seldom mix. Humanity faces an ominous future of Drones, Clones & Chimera controlled by an all seeing AI - In a World of Programs making Programs and Machines making Machines, You have been reduced to a Number, judged by an algorithm, and AI is god.
Designer and Painter
8 年Very nice article. Have a beautiful weekend there.