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| Here are today's top business stories: - ⚖️ Following sexual trafficking accusations, wrestling icon Vince McMahon quits WWE.
- 📱Spotify CEO Daniel Ek calls Apple's new fee policy an 'extortion' and accuses the company of monopolistic policies.
- 💊 The CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck will testify in a Congressional hearing led by Bernie Sanders over high drug prices.
- 💼 Salesforce is planning to lay off 700 employees.
- 💵 Paramount announces a new layoff round, citing cost management as the primary factor.
- 🚙 Probe claims that poor culture and leadership led to technical issues at GM's Cruise.
Arbër
p/Arber | |
| 1 | | Wrestling icon Vince McMahon has resigned from TKO and WWE following sexual assault and sexual trafficking accusations by a former employee. McMahon sold WWE to Endeavor in 2023 for over $9B. More: - Vince McMahon has denied the allegations but stated that he will resign out of respect for the company and its fans.
- A former employee named Janel Grant has filed a lawsuit, claiming that McMahon directed her to have sexual relations with multiple men, including a WWE wrestler.
- Grant claims that Vince McMahon made her sign a non-disclosure agreement in 2022, which she seeks to void through the lawsuit.
- According to the lawsuit, McMahon had agreed to pay Grant $3M in exchange for her not to press charges but ended up only paying her $1M.
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Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has called Apple's new DMA rules an "extortion" and "a new low," saying that the new fees will hurt Spotify's goal of remaining profitable. Apple has received criticism from multiple companies and developers in recent weeks. More: - Apple recently announced changes in the way that it charges app developers in the App Store due to the Digital Markets Act being passed by the European Union.
- The new rules reduce the commission Apple takes but add a new $0.54 Core Technology Fee for apps with over 1 million downloads. For companies such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Spotify, Instagram, and other large platforms, this could lead to tens of millions of dollars in added costs.
- According to Spotify's CEO, Daniel Ek, Apple has become a company that is not innovating and is relying on its dominant position as the owner of the App Store to generate significant fees that damage other companies.
- In a series of tweets on X.com, Ek added that Apple's ethos had inspired him during his career as an entrepreneur, but the company has turned its back on its principles.
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| 3 | | The CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck will testify in Congress over high drug prices. The Senate hearing, led by Bernie Sanders, will take place on Feb. 8, 2024. More: - The hearing, called by The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, is chaired by Bernie Sanders.
- Senators had planned to vote to subpoena J&J CEO Joaquin Duato and Merck CEO Robert Davis to testify after both executives declined earlier requests to appear at the hearing, but both volunteered and accepted to testify.
- Senators will likely ask questions that revolve around the planned drug price negotiations from Medicare, which aim to lower the cost of drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The legislation will tackle the prices of expensive drugs, some of which are manufactured by Merck and Johnson & Johnson.
- J&J, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squib have all sued, planning to stop the legislation from being implemented in 2026.
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| 4 | | Salesforce plans to lay off 700 employees, or 1% of its workforce. The software giant previously fired 10% of its workforce back in 2023. More: - The company's decision will help reduce costs and follow a consistent strategy set by tech companies in the last two years of laying off excess roles.
- Following last year's layoffs, Salesforces' stock rose over 80% in the last 12 months, outpacing Nasdaq.
- Regardless of this lay-off round, the company still has around 1000 open positions.
- Two weeks ago, it was reported that Salesforce would freeze hiring in technology and product divisions.
- The company currently has around 70,000 employees.
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| 5 | | Paramount CEO Bob Bakish has announced a new layoff round, citing costs as the leading factor behind the decision. The number of employees that will be laid off is unknown so far. More: - Bakish stated that the company's goal is to increase its earnings, which will require Paramount to reduce costs.
- He added that Paramount will rely on the shared services organizational model, meaning several units will merge to adapt to a reduced number of employees.
- The company will also reduce its spending on international content as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
- Bakish did not comment on the company's rumored merger with Apple TV+ or other reports that claim the company will go private.
Zoom Out: - The Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, and Sports Illustrated have all announced job cuts in recent days, while companies such as Disney and Google have also announced imminent layoff rounds.
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| 6 | | Poor company culture and leadership led to technical issues with autonomous vehicles at General Motors, according to a third-party probe. The investigation concluded that company management did not intentionally mislead regulators during briefings. More: - The 105-page report contains details on GM's multiple incidents, including the Oct. 2, 2023 accident, where a self-driving Cruise vehicle dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco for 20 feet.
- Cruise management cooperated with federal agencies, attempting to show regulators a video of the incident, but was unable to do so in full due to technical difficulties.
- Since the incident, Cruise's Robotaxi fleet has been put on pause. Its co-founders have resigned, and nine other leaders, along with 24% of its total workforce, have been laid off.
- Cruise is currently under investigation by several local and federal organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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- Tesla will invest $500M in a manufacturing unit in Buffalo, New York. The company will build one of its Dojo supercomputers at the plant.
- President Joe Biden has paused all new approvals on LNG export terminals, citing environmental concerns.
- The US government is expected to announce billions of dollars in subsidies to chip-making companies Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
- Microsoft has fixed a technical issue with its Teams app that left thousands of users unable to access their accounts.
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 | Writer | | Arbër is an Inside analyst who has previously incubated his startup at the largest incubator in Southeastern Europe. He has collaborated with multiple major publications and holds a business degree from XAMK University in Finland. | | This newsletter was edited by Megan LaBruna | |
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