All posts tagged: Lays

Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business

Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business

Published by skeptic

Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned. The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a $425 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of $6 billion, as TechCrunch previously reported. It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles. But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path. “Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid …

Restaurant Inside Walker Art Center Lays Off Staff, Adopts QR Codes

Restaurant Inside Walker Art Center Lays Off Staff, Adopts QR Codes

Published by José Betancourt

The restaurant inside the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is eliminating its front-of-house staff and replacing traditional service with QR-code ordering. Cardamom, the museum’s in-house restaurant operated by DDP Restaurant Group, will shift to a counter-service model this week, with customers ordering via their phones rather than through servers. Sixteen hosts and servers are being laid off as part of the transition, though kitchen staff and bartenders will remain, according to reporting by MPR News.  Related Articles The company framed the change as a long-considered business decision tied to uneven traffic and rising costs. Because Cardamom’s crowds fluctuate with museum programming and seasons, staffing has often been inconsistent. Workers either cut early on slow days or stretched thin during peak hours, a spokesperson told MPR.  Workers and labor advocates tell a different story. Some employees said the layoffs felt abrupt, and at least one suggested they were retaliatory, pointing to recent organizing efforts. Others noted that shifting to a QR-based system would likely reduce tip income, which can make up a significant share of front-of-house pay.  …

Yeo’s lays off 25 employees at Singapore’s Senoko facility

Yeo’s lays off 25 employees at Singapore’s Senoko facility

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE: Yeo Hiap Seng (Yeo’s) announced on Tuesday (Mar 31) that 25 employees will be laid off due to a “consolidation of can manufacturing to Malaysia”.  “This consolidation enables the Group’s Johor and Selangor facilities to optimise capacity utilisation and strengthen overall manufacturing efficiency across its network,” said the food and beverage company in a media statement. Yeo’s said its Senoko facility will continue to serve as its headquarters, cross-border logistics hub and smaller-scale manufacturing centre.  “Yeo’s is fully committed to helping affected employees with job placement assistance, career guidance and counselling support,” it said, adding that opportunities for open roles in Malaysia will be offered to them whenever possible. In response to CNA’s queries, Yeo’s added that it will have 245 employees across all its Singapore operations after the retrenchment. The affected roles were all within can manufacturing. It said the Senoko facility will continue to support light manufacturing activities, along with logistics optimisation, commercialisation initiatives, innovation work and regional coordination. Yeo’s is unionised under the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) and …

‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games lays off 1,000 employees

‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games lays off 1,000 employees

Published by Sam Flores

Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game “Fortnite,” is laying off more than 1,000 employees and cutting $500 million in costs. Chief Executive Tim Sweeney announced the cuts Tuesday morning in a message to employees. He said it has nothing to do with artificial intelligence and instead pointed to what he said was a lack of “Fortnite” engagement last year. “Despite Fortnite remaining one of the most successful games in the world, we’ve had challenges delivering consistent Fortnite magic with every season,” Sweeney said in a statement. The company’s flagship game was first released in 2017. Since then, it’s been a key part of internet culture — where character-specific dances became widespread trends and major musicians, such as Travis Scott and Ariana Grande, have hosted concerts in the virtual realm. But Epic has been slow to optimize the computer game for mobile play. A “Fortnite” app was first introduced in 2018 but soon removed due to a legal battle against Apple and Google over app store practices. Sweeney said the company is still …

Fortnite Studio Epic Games Lays Off 1,000 Staff Amid Downturn

Fortnite Studio Epic Games Lays Off 1,000 Staff Amid Downturn

Published by Daniella Wilson

Epic Games, the studio behind Fortnite, is slashing more than 1,000 jobs as it deals with a “downturn” in engagement with its flagship game. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced the cuts to staff Tuesday. “The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded. This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place,” Sweeney wrote. “Some of the challenges we’re facing are industry-wide challenges: slower growth, weaker spending, and tougher cost economics; current consoles selling less than last generation’s; and games competing for time against other increasingly-engaging forms of entertainment.” Epic, of course, is a close partner of The Walt Disney Co., which invested $1.5 billion in the company two years ago, with plans to create a Fortnite-connected universe filled with Disney IP and characters. Disney characters have also made frequent appearances in limited edition Fortnite seasons. Sweeney is …

Iran lays mines in Strait of Hormuz

Iran lays mines in Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

Iran has laid at least a dozen mines in the Strait of Hormuz, US intelligence officials have claimed. Some 20 per cent of the world’s oil is shipped through the narrow passageway, but the flow has been paralysed because of Iranian threats to tankers off its coast. Now, US officials have reported that there are at least a dozen Maham 3 and Maham 7 Limpet Mines in the water, which will need careful extraction before safe travel can resume. The Iranian-manufactured Maham 3 is a moored naval mine that uses magnetic sensors to detect nearby vessels without physical contact, while the Maham 7 Limpet Mine is a compact, high-explosive sticking mine. The intelligence assessment, first reported by CBS, follows Donald Trump’s announcement of a five-day ceasefire on Iranian energy targets on Monday, after he said peace talks with the Islamic Republic were progressing. The US president later declared he would “jointly control” the Strait of Hormuz with Iran, adding that he was talking with a “respected” Iranian leader who would be “exactly what we’re looking …

Microsoft Lays Out Next Windows Updates: Faster, Lighter and More Flexible

Microsoft Lays Out Next Windows Updates: Faster, Lighter and More Flexible

Published by skeptic

In the Windows Insider Blog on Friday, Microsoft outlined some of the upcoming changes that its Insiders — beta testers — should expect in the next few months. Among them are less intrusive Windows Update operations, improvements to Copilot integration, streamlining of the start menu and taskbar, fewer notifications, a smaller memory footprint, greater stability and more. They’re all welcome — and overdue. Microsoft plans to be “more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted.” In addition, widgets will provide information “more intentionally by default, keeping content glanceable and reducing unnecessary interruptions.” The whole point of widgets is to give the user the ability to understand information at a glance and to be nonintrusive. It means you’ll be able to personalize or turn them off more easily and generally reduce the number of notifications. One of the big performance updates will be a reduction in the operating system’s memory usage, leaving more available for the programs you run. This is huge, not just because Windows …

Riz Ahmed Lays Out Why He Should Be Cast As The Next James Bond

Riz Ahmed Lays Out Why He Should Be Cast As The Next James Bond

Published by Sam Flores

While recent rumours have suggested that James Bond producers have settled on either Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner or Aaron Taylor-Johnson as their next 007; Riz Ahmed is making it clear he’s not giving up hope either. In his new TV series Bait, Riz plays a fictional actor who has been heavily rumoured to become the first person of colour cast as the lead in a Bond movie. During an appearance on Wednesday’s edition of The Tonight Show, the British actor publicly stated his case to be considered for the part. “Traditionally, actors playing James Bond have not looked like me, right?” he began, before joking: “Traditionally, actors playing James Bond have always been five foot nine or over. But, the rumours aren’t true, I’m five foot eight-and-a-half, not five foot eight. “And in what world do you want a secret agent to blend in with the New York Knicks? You need someone who’s just below the eye line, who really kind of blends in.” Daniel Craig is the most recent actor to play James Bond …

Atlassian Lays Off 10 Percent of Its Workforce as It Pivots to AI

Atlassian Lays Off 10 Percent of Its Workforce as It Pivots to AI

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Another tech giant is culling immense numbers of workers. On Thursday, prominent Australian software firm Atlassian announced it was laying off ten percent of its workforce, or about 1,600 employees.  Like a growing number of its peers, it wasn’t shy about sharing why: a pivot to AI. The company, which makes most of its money by selling collaboration software, said it will “rebalance” its resources to focus on the “future of teamwork in the AI era,” Reuters reported. 40 percent of the firings, or about 600 employees, will come from its workforce in North America. Another 30 percent will come from Australia and 16 percent in India, Atlassian said. The company, however, refused to characterize the firings as a sign of AI replacement. “Our ​approach is not ‘AI replaces people,’” CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said in a ​memo to employees. “But it would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn’t change the mix of skills we need or the number …