 Amazon has begun laying off employees in its HR and AWS cloud divisions. The company has not reported the exact number of employees that will be laid off, but it is believed this round will impact around 9,000 employees, which is less than 1% of its total workforce. More: - Amazon's decision to lay off employees comes after hiring over 175,000 employees in 2022.
- The e-commerce giant claims that this decision is part of an effort to realign its workforce and streamline its operations in response to changing market conditions and business needs.
- Despite the layoffs, Amazon remains one of the largest employers in the tech industry.
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Disney has sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the control of its Florida resort in response to what it calls "a targeted campaign of government retaliation." The company claims that the governor is punishing the company for merely exercising its right to free speech. More: - Disney sued DeSantis and the state's chief financial officer after the state's Board of Administration voted to terminate a long-standing agreement between Disney and the state.
- The agreement, known as a "special district," allowed Disney to collect taxes from visitors to its theme parks and use the funds for infrastructure improvements on its property. In return, Disney would keep the property taxes it would have paid to the state.
- The state's Board of Administration voted to terminate the agreement due to concerns about how much money Disney was collecting and whether it was being used appropriately.
- Disney argues that the termination of the agreement violates the company's constitutional rights and that the Board of Administration acted unlawfully.
Zoom Out: - The lawsuit is the latest development in a year-long dispute between Disney and the state of Florida.
- The disagreement between the two sides began last year when Disney came out against a Florida bill limiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity, dubbed "Don't Say Gay."
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U.K. regulatory authorities have blocked Microsoft's $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The regulator said that the deal could hinder competition in the gaming industry. More: - The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority's decision was based on concerns that the deal would harm competition in the gaming industry and lead to higher prices for consumers.
- Microsoft had hoped that the acquisition would help it expand its gaming title library and gain market share from competitors such as Sony and Nintendo.
- The company stated that it is disappointed with the decision and that it might appeal.
- Regulatory authorities in the U.S., Japan, Brazil, and other major markets have also refused to approve the deal.
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Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, is offering buyouts to 33,500 employees in Europe. The decision is part of the company's efforts to reduce its expenses. More: - The company seeks to reduce its workforce by 11%, with most buyouts targeting workers in Italy, France, Germany, and Spain.
- Stellantis is facing increasing pressure from competitors and the global economic situation and is seeking to save money through restructuring and streamlining its operations.
- The company has not yet announced how many employees it expects to take the buyout offer or the financial impact of the program.
Zoom Out: - Recently, the company stated that it would restructure its EV production objectives as a way of adapting to the recent market changes caused by Tesla's price reductions.
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Chipotle's share price has jumped as its earnings report beat analyst estimates. The company opened 41 new locations during Q1 2023, overcoming consumer spending woes. More: - Chipotle Mexican Grill reported better-than-expected earnings for Q1 2023, as the company's revenue was up by 38% compared to the same period last year.
- The company's net income for the quarter was $203.2M, up from $76.4M in Q1 2022.
- The strong performance was driven by a combination of higher prices, increased customer traffic, and growth in delivery and digital sales.
- The company's CEO, Brian Niccol, attributed the strong results to Chipotle's focus on innovation, including its new loyalty program and the launch of its first-ever digital-only restaurant.
- The company, however, noted that rising labor costs and supply chain disruptions are expected to be significant challenges in the near-term future.
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Vedanta Biosciences has raised a $106.5M funding round to develop therapies for allergies and liver disease. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer were among the main investors. More: - Vedanta Biosciences develops oral therapies based on bacteria isolated from the human microbiome.
- These therapies are used to treat allergies, liver disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, and C. difficile infections.
- The company claims it has over 70 patents.
- The funding was co-led by new investors AXA IM Alts and The AMR Action Fund, with participation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer, Skyviews Life Science, Reimagined Ventures, Fiscus Ventures, PEAK6, Atlantic Neptune, K2 HealthVentures, Korea Investment Partners, PureTech Health, Revelation Partners, QUAD Investment Management, Seventure Partners, and Hambro Perks.
- The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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- Ursa Major has raised a $100M Series D funding round to build rocket engines.
- English citizens and media have criticized the Bank of England after the country's premier authority stated that ''people need to accept they are poorer now."
- Development IDE platform Replit has raised a $97M Series B extension funding round, reaching a $1.1B valuation.
- Boeing has announced that it aims to scale its 737 Max production to 38 planes per month.
- Virta has closed a $93.8M funding round to expand its international EV charging network
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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