The Buffalo site is used for training Tesla's driver-assist software, and energy storage products.
A regulatory filing lends more insight into Tesla's recent layoffs.
The company has laid off 280 workers at its facility in Buffalo, New York — or about 14% of the workers at the site — according to a regulatory filing in New York under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The WARN act requires most companies with more than 100 employees to provide 60 days of notice before a large-scale layoff.
The 280 Buffalo-based workers are part of the larger layoffs across Tesla. On Sunday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told staff the company was cutting more than 10% of its workforce. Within hours, laid-off workers were notified their employment had been terminated effective immediately.
The layoffs appear to have impacted workers across the country, as well as some staff at Tesla's international offices. Two of Tesla's largest factories are located in California and Texas, both of which were included in the layoffs.
Tesla's Buffalo site is used as a site for the company's data analysis to train its Autopilot and so-called Full Self-Driving software. The facility also produces Tesla's solar panels, EV charging, and energy storage components.
On Wednesday, Tesla began sending out severance packages to some workers who'd been laid off. Five workers told Business Insider they were offered severance packages that were equal to two months pay. Tesla's severance offer could address any potential penalties if it were found to have violated the WARN Act, which says laid-off employees can be entitled to up to 60 days of pay and benefits if not given proper advanced notice.
A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at gkay@businessinsider.com
Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on his nomination to become chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., November 28, 2017.
Reuters/Joshua Roberts
Fed officials had further commentary on the path of rate cuts in 2024 following Powell's remarks on Tuesday.
The path to getting inflation back to target levels looks uncertain, central bankers said.
The market has mostly given up on the idea of a rate cut at the Fed's June meeting.
Federal Reserve officials heaped more doubt on the timing of rate cuts this year, echoing Chair Jerome Powell in stating that the path to 2% inflation looks uncertain.
Inflation will likely fall further, but the central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates at the moment, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in public remarks on Wednesday. Her comments come shortly after inflation clocked in hotter-than-expected for the month of March, the third straight month to post above-expected inflation figures.
The Fed has projected three rate cuts to come by the end of 2024. That outcome is still possible, though it will be a "close call" and dependent on future economic data, Mester said.
"At some point, as we get more confidence, we will start to normalize policy back to a less restrictive stance, but we don't have to do that in a hurry," she added.
Strong price growth could mean that the progress in lowering inflation has come to a standstill, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said at a separate event on Wednesday. In early April, she warned of the possibility of another rate hike if inflation continues to tread higher and the job market remains tight.
The US added 303,000 jobs last month, more than economists expected. The jobless rate, meanwhile, dropped to 3.8%, remaining near a historic low.
"[There] is a lot of financial market activity and a lot of continued growth that we wouldn't have expected if policy was sufficiently tight," Bowman said Wednesday evening. "I think time will tell whether it is sufficiently restrictive."
New York Fed President John Williams said rates will eventually need to be lowered, but that will hinge on the strength of the economy. It's also possible the Fed will hike rates again, he added, if strong economic data shows that it's necessary.
"I definitely don't feel an urgency to cut interest rates," Williams said on Thursday, adding that the Fed funds rate was already in a "good place."
Fed Chair Powell suggested earlier in the week that rate cuts could be delayed, causing stocks to slide. The Fed's April Beige Book also revealed that central bankers had mixed outlooks on inflation, with some officials airing concerns over a resurgence in high prices.
Inflation risks haven't been lost on investors, who have been steadily dialing back their expectations for Fed rate cuts over the last few months. Markets are now expecting just one or two rate cuts by the end of the year, according to the CME FedWatch tool, down from six cuts that were anticipated at the start of 2024.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court during jury selection in his hush-money trial.
Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP
Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial in New York lost a juror Thursday over privacy concerns.
"I don't believe at this point I can be fair and unbiased," the woman told the judge.
The judge scolded press for revealing too much information about jurors in the historic trial.
A juror who had already been seated in Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial in New York was excused Thursday after she expressed concerns about her identity possibly being revealed to the public.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the historic case, said in court Thursday that the woman, known as "juror No. 2," called the court on Wednesday saying that she had "concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial" in the trial after sleeping on it.
"Yesterday alone I have had friends, family push things to my phone regarding questioning my identity as a juror," the juror then told the judge in the courtroom.
"I don't believe at this point I can be fair and unbiased," the woman explained before Merchan dismissed her from the case.
Merchan then scolded the press for revealing details about the woman during the jury selection process this week.
"There's a reason why this is an anonymous jury, and we've taken the measures that we've taken," Merchan said when he addressed the press and encouraged them to use "common sense."
"It kind of defeats the purpose of that when so much information is put out there that makes it very, very easy to find out who they are," the judge said.
Merchan said that the juror who was excused "said she was afraid and intimidated by all the press."
"We just lost what may have been a very good juror," Merchan added.
There are now six jurors empaneled. The jury selection process is continuing.
Some gig workers in and around Seattle are traveling miles more than normal to deliver groceries and takeout food as the companies they work for try to avoid the city's new pay law.
Seattle's minimum wage law for gig workers took effect January 13, requiring companies like Instacart and DoorDash to pay those workers a minimum wage comparable to the city's $19.97 hourly minimum.
But some orders and order offers from Seattle and its suburbs seen by Business Insider suggest that the companies are avoiding paying the higher wage by sending shoppers to stores outside the city to fill orders — even if it takes longer and adds miles to the delivery run or risks disappointing customers.
One recent offer from Instacart seen by a shopper who works in the Seattle area involved driving 7.4 miles from a Total Wine store to a customer's home in the Shoreline neighborhood to deliver some hard seltzer. There was another Total Wine store about half as far from the customer's house with a similar product selection, but it was located within the city of Seattle, the shopper who shared the offer with BI said.
As presented, the entire delivery would have taken place outside Seattle city limits, meaning that Instacart would not have had to pay the shopper according to the Pay Up law.
A recent offer one Instacart shopper received in the Seattle area.
Insider Source
"Someone could order ice cream, and now we're driving eight miles to deliver ice cream when they have the grocery store right across the street," the shopper told BI. The shopper asked not to have their name used in this article for fear of retaliation from Instacart. BI verified their identity and work for Instacart.
"I've noticed that a lot of my regular customers have stopped ordering" outside the Seattle city area, the shopper added.
Two other order offers seen by BI show delivery routes that involved delivering groceries from stores north of Seattle to addresses to the west of the city in Kirkland, Washington — even though both chains have closer locations in Seattle itself.
Still, before the law was enacted, Instacart had laid out how it would deal with orders within the city and outside.A day before Pay Up took effect, Instacart said that the company's gig workers would "only be able to facilitate orders from Seattle retail locations to customers who live within Seattle."
"This means that customers outside of Seattle will not be able to order from stores within Seattle, and vice versa," Instacart said.
An Instacart spokesperson confirmed the hard border, saying that the company faced "extensive requirements to conduct business within Seattle, which do not apply to customer or retailer locations outside of the city limits."
They added: "We cannot apply different regulatory structures to the same customer order."
But it's becoming increasingly clear that creating the border has started disrupting shoppers. Some have even said it's created a dead zone where accepting orders of any kind is impossible.
One such area is 145th Street, a road that runs East-West and functions as the northern boundary between the City of Seattle and the suburban neighborhood of Shoreline. The street is also home to stores frequented by Instacart shoppers, such as a QFC supermarket, which Kroger owns.
"It won't let me take an order when I am in Seattle, or in Shoreline, or even at the store," one shopper posted on Reddit in January after Instacart made changes in response to Pay Up.
Instead, the app "just gives me the error message that I can't accept non-Seattle batches while in Seattle even when I am not in Seattle."
Instacart — and other gig apps — have been making their opposition to Seattle's pay law clear.
Since it took effect in January, Instacart has fielded a survey of 250 shoppers that it says shows overwhelming dissatisfaction with the law — though BI reported that the study asked about elements of working for Instacart, such as tips, that Instacart has made changes to even though Seattle didn't require them.
Other companies, including DoorDash and Uber, have also demanded rollbacks of all or parts of the law.
Do you work for or use Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Walmart Spark, or another gig delivery app and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com
Buying a house is the biggest purchase most people make, so it makes sense to hire an expert to help with the process.
So, about that…
One recent homebuyer's brief experience working with a real-estate agent left him feeling way better off doing it himself. And he doesn't see why everyone else can't do the same.
"If you're thinking about buying a home, ask yourself the following three questions: Do you have an internet connection? Do you have at least a seventh-grade reading level? Do you like saving money? If you answer yes to all three, you're in fantastic shape to be your own agent," writes Albert Fox Cahn.
Albert details how much of what his real-estate agent told him was what he'd already figured out. Most of the listings his agent "found" were homes Albert had already seen online, sometimes weeks earlier. The agent also tried to push him into a bidding war that got uncomfortably high.
He eventually found a place without a real-estate agent. Better yet: he saved $50,000 since the seller had baked his agent's commission into the price.
twomeows/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
Now, before you fire up the hate mail, I understand Albert's experience isn't representative of all real-estate agents.
But there's a legitimate case for more people to follow in Albert's footsteps. That's thanks to a recent settlement focused on agent commissions.
In short, buyers and sellers could be responsible for paying their agents separately. Previously, sellers typically paid out both agents with a chunk of the final sale price, usually around 5-6%.
So, with real estate where it is — expensive and mind-numbingly frustrating — you could see why buyers might be willing to cut ties with agents to save some cash.
It all speaks to a broader DIY debate that plays out in industries. Take personal finance. Financial advisors are a market worth trillions of dollars. Yet some say you're better off avoiding advisors and their fees and sticking your money in low-fee index funds.
Sometimes, though, people are willing to "pay for peace."
Airbnb upended the hotel industry when it entered the scene. Why pay for a pricey, small hotel room when you could rent an entire house or apartment, often at a lower price?
What's holding off a recession? Economist David Rosenberg, who has a pessimistic view on the market's future, has some ideas for what's stopping a downturn. Government spending has boosted manufacturing facility construction and debt was refinanced when rates were still historically low.
Seth Klarman sounds off. The billionaire founder of the hedge fund Baupost shared his perspective on the impact of AI on society while speaking at a Harvard Business School event. He also sees credit and real-estate opportunities due to interest-rate increases and pandemic knock-on effects.
The US freight recession seems to be getting worse. Shares in J.B. Hunt, which is seen as a bellwether for the industry, tumbled 8% Wednesday after a first-quarter earnings report that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The broader freight market has been toiling through an extensive slowdown since the pandemic years, driven by weak sales and an overload of trucks.
3 things in tech
Rebecca Zisser/BI
Reddit is taking over Google Search results. If you've noticed way more Reddit posts when you search on Google, you're not alone: Google's shift to promoting more human sites has led to a surge in traffic to Reddit. The change, however, is already being exploited by spammers.
TikTok Shop is better at keeping customers than Temu and Shein. You might be annoyed by all those TikTok Shop videos on your feed, but it appears they're working. New data shows TikTok outpaced its rivals regarding repeat purchases, and was only beaten by Amazon.
More layoffs at Google. The tech giant is cutting some jobs in its finance and real estate teams, two current employees told BI. Some roles are also being relocated to other offices in the US and abroad where Google is putting more investment, including India, Dublin, and Atlanta.
3 things in business
Eddie Mulholland/Pool via AP; Alyssa Powell/BI
Harry and Meghan's mega-deals have been mega-busts. In the last four years, companies have thrown millions of dollars into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's projects only to be met with mixed results. Sure, the couple is really famous — but it's clear they're terrible at business.
Laid-off Tesla workers are starting to receive severance. Tesla appeared to be offering two months' pay and health insurance, five former workers told BI. However, CEO Elon Musk has apologized because some of the severance packages were "incorrectly low," per CNBC. Meanwhile, as the problems pile up at Tesla, perhaps Musk shouldn't have so many jobs.
Tech giants are building new data centers — and you might end up paying for it. Amazon and Ohio's largest utility company have asked the state for a huge electricity discount as it ramps up its construction of data centers there. Consumer advocates and energy experts worry that home and business ratepayers may end up bearing the brunt of the rise in costs.
The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Grace Lett, associate editor, in Chicago. Laine Napoli, associate audience producer, in New York.
In this courtroom sketch, former President Donald Trump attends the jury selection of his hush-money criminal trial.
REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Manhattan prosecutors in Trump's hush-money trial want more sanctions against him.
They say he's posted "disturbing" things about prospective jurors on Truth Social.
They also say he's violated a gag order by repeatedly attacking Michael Cohen.
Manhattan prosecutors in Donald Trump's criminal hush-money case asked the judge presiding over the case to sanction him for attacking prospective jurors in the trial, arguing the former president has repeatedly violated his gag order.
The latest salvo, from Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy in court Thursday morning, concerns a Truth Social post made by Trump on Wednesday, in which he quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters on his Truth Social account.
"They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury," Trump posted on his feed, quoting Watters while applying his own letter capitalization.
Conroy told New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan Thursday morning that it was "the most disturbing post" among seven occasions where Trump has violated his gag order since Monday, the day jury selection began.
He asked Merchan to hold Trump in contempt and fine him, adding that the Manhattan district attorney's office was "still considering our options" for the full scope of sanctions to request from the judge. Being held in contempt of court can potentially result in jail time for the former president.
Prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office have accused Trump of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, keeping her quiet ahead of the 2016 election about an affair she says she had with her.
Merchan issued a gag order in the case forbidding Trump from making statements about trial jurors, witnesses, staff prosecutors, and family members of Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Prosecutors accused Trump of violating it on Monday with attacks on Daniels and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who are both set to be key witnesses in the trial, which is expected to last six weeks in downtown Manhattan.
Merchan also castigated Trump on Tuesday for "muttering" and being "audible" while a prospective juror had answered questions aimed at determining her ability to be impartial.
"I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom," the judge said. "I want to make that crystal clear."
On Thursday, Conroy said Trump violated the gag order seven more times with attacks on Cohen on social media and on his campaign website.
Emil Bove, one of Trump's attorneys, said that reposting — which he falsely said Trump did with the Watters quote, even though it was not a repost — wasn't covered by Mercham's gag order.
Bove also argued that the last rounds of Trump's criticism against Cohen were fair game because they were "political in nature," countering Cohen "attacking his candidacy."
Merchan previously scheduled a hearing next Tuesday to determine whether Trump violated his gag order. He said he would consider Conroy's new allegations at that time.
It's possible to avoid paying for any of Icon of the Seas' upcharged amenities — but be prepared to stay sober and repeat meals.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas could be an expensive vacation compared to other cruise ships.
Sailing on the mega-ship without paying for any of its upcharged amenities is possible.
But it would mean spending at least $265 a day, staying sober, and repeating meals.
A budget vacation on Royal Caribbean's new wildly popular Icon of the Seas is possible. Just be prepared to stay sober, repeat meals, and pay at least $265 a day.
Right now, there's likely no better example of the mass-market cruise industry's shift toward the budget airline strategy — charge a cheap base fare and offer irresistible up-charged amenities — than Royal Caribbean's new world's largest cruise liner.
After all, what other ship comes with a $100,000-a-week cabin and a $200-per-person restaurant?
But it is possible to vacation on the mega-ship without giving into any of its upcharged restaurants and activities. If you're strong enough to do so, here's what your seven nights on Icon of the Seas could look like.
Less than half of Icon’s 28 eateries are complimentary, so you’ll likely repeat meals.
Icon has two finger-food stands. The one near the mini-golf course has a half-complimentary, half-up-charged menu.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Picky eaters are sure to find at least one satisfactory option at the ship's three buffets, one of which is Mexican-themed.
If not, the complimentary pizza shop or sandwiches from the two on-board cafés might suffice.
In search of variety, grab a Mediterranean-style wrap or crepe at the five-stall food hall instead.
For a more formal dinner, budget cruisers can grub on a three-course meal at the complimentary dining room.
The ship has 10 complimentary restaurants, not including the one exclusive to guests who've booked suites.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
The three-floor restaurant has a rotating menu with classics like crab cakes, New York strip steak, and cheesecake.
Just don't expect lobster or filet mignon. Both cost extra.
For better or worse, guests snubbing upcharged options would also be snubbing booze.
Icon of the Seas' bars serve fun options like frozen tropical drinks and caffeine-infused cocktails.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Like most mass-market cruise ships, Icon of the Seas' 18 bars aren't free. If you want alcohol and sodas, be prepared to pay for a beverage package.
Thankfully, the ship’s complimentary amenities could distract you from your sobriety.
The water park has six slides, including what Royal Caribbean is calling the tallest at sea.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Icon's surf simulator and impressive six-slide waterpark won't run you a tab.
The same goes for its seven pools and nine hot tubs — save for one of each exclusive to guests who've booked a suite.
For drier activities, families could spend their afternoons scaling the rock climbing wall or testing their putt at the nine-hole mini-golf course.
The nine-hole course puts a nautical spin on mini-golf.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Or they could work off their lunch buffet by sweating it out at the sports court — basketball and ping pong included — for no extra charges.
Fortunately, Icon of the Seas' nighttime entertainment is also a great equalizer. Its ice skating performance, rendition of the Broadway hit "Wizard of Oz," and multi-disciplinary dance, swim, and dive show are complimentary to all guests.
But if you want to test your fear of heights at the part-walking, part-agility, part-ziplining Crown's Edge, you'll have to cough up $49.
The arcade games aren't free, either.
Guests staying in suites have access to a shared outdoor lounge.
Icon of the Seas has seven pools.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
There's also the option to pay up to $700 for one day with a private cabana-like "casita."
But if you're on a budget, you'll have to fight "pool chair hogs" for the best poolside seating instead. (Consider bringing a sheet mask with you — a 25-minute facial at the ship's spa is almost $150.)
And hold off on your Instagram photo dumps until after your vacation.
The new vessel has a neighborhood designed for families with young children. One of its restaurants allows kids to eat for free.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Otherwise, you'll have to cough up $31 per day and device for streaming-enabled WiFi, totaling $217 for the duration of the cruise. (Icon of the Seas is exclusively operating seven-night sailings.)
But let’s face it: The base fare alone isn’t ultra-affordable compared to other cruise ships.
Icon of the Seas is spending its first year in service operating seven-night Caribbean cruises from Miami. The cheapest fare is currently $1,856 per person per day.
Brittany Chang/Business Insider
Patrick Scholes, a lodging and leisure research analyst at Truist Securities, told Business Insider in late 2023, three months before Icon's launch, that the vessel was priced at a premium of "at least 50%, if not more."
Steep, compared to the typical 20% to 50% new-ship premiums.
The cheapest interior stateroom for 2024 currently costs $265 per person per day.
A rendering shows Icon's "interior plus" stateroom, which, according to the cruise line, has a "deluxe closet and dressing area."
Royal Caribbean International
But even the windowless cabin comes with its own list of upgrades.
Travelers who want to pick their own stateroom must pay an additional $128 per person. If they opt for one of the larger (by at least one square foot) interior cabins, it'll be an extra $100.
Which is to say, good luck avoiding any of the upcharged amenities on your Icon of the Seas vacation.
Ed Pierson testified during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Boeing has said there's no documents of work done on the door plug that came off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max.
Ed Pierson, a former Boeing manager, testified that another whistleblower gave him these documents.
Although the NTSB chair said she believes these are different documents than the ones it's looking for.
A Boeing whistleblower said there is a "criminal coverup" surrounding January's Alaska Airlines blowout.
Ed Pierson was one of four people who testified Wednesday in front of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Pierson was a senior manager at Boeing's 737 factory and retired in 2018, before the first Max 8 crash.
He has consistently raised concerns that the narrowbody jet is unsafe and says he once got off a 737 Max before it took off when he realized which plane model he had boarded.
Pierson's testimony on Wednesday included a significant fresh allegation about the Alaska Airlines blowout investigation. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat this, this is a criminal coverup," he said.
After a 737 Max 9 lost its door plug in midair — leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage — the National Transportation Safety Board said key bolts designed to secure it were missing.
The NTSB said the door plug had been removed in Boeing's factory to fix some broken rivets, but the planemaker told investigators it didn't have documentation of this work.
"With respect to documentation, if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share," Boeing said in a statement last month.
But Pierson said on Wednesday: "Records do in fact exist. I know this because I personally passed them to the FBI."
Asked for more detail about this by Ranking Member Ron Johnson, Pierson said an "internal whistleblower" sent him the documents about the work done on the door plug.
"For the last couple months, there's been talk that there's no records, and that's obviously not the case," Pierson added. "It has been available for months."
The FBI is looking into whether criminal charges should be brought against Boeing as a result of the blowout. Passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight were sent letters from the FBI saying that they might be victims of a crime.
The embattled planemaker has seen its stock fall by a third since the start of the year, per Markets Insider data.
Citing people familiar with the situation, The Seattle Times reported that Pierson was referring to an informal database used to track problems at the 737 Max factory, called the shipside action tracker.
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB, told FlightGlobal: "I believe the whistleblower has the shipside tracker, which we already have, [and] is not the documents we are looking for."
Boeing did not comment directly on Pierson's remarks when reached by Business Insider. In a statement about its safety culture, the planemaker said: "Since 2020, Boeing has taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to raise their voice."
"We continue to put safety and quality above all else and share information transparently with our regulator, customers and other stakeholders," it added.
Colorado lawmakers have signed a bill aimed at protecting privacy in the burgeoning field of neurotech.
The act expands the definition of "sensitive" data to include our neural information.
The law came in response to the largely unregulated consumer neurotechnology industry.
Lawmakers in Colorado have passed a law aimed at protecting a new frontier in privacy: your brain activity.
Gov. Jared Polis signed the new law after it passed in the Colorado House by a vote of 61-to-1, and in the Senate 34-to-0.
The bill takes aim at the growing neurotechnology industry.
In simple terms, the Protect Privacy of Biological Data Act expands the definition of "sensitive data" in the state's privacy laws to encompass biological and neural data.
"Data concerning the activity of the human brain and wider nervous systems, or 'neural data,' is extremely sensitive and can reveal intimate information about individuals, including information about health, mental states, emotions, and cognitive functioning," the bill stated.
Because every brain is different, the storage of neural data "always contains sensitive information that may link the data to an identified or identifiable individual," it added.
While we've grown more accustomed to the storage, processing, and increasingly the sale of private data harvested from areas like social media and wearable tech, many may balk at sharing neural data so readily.
Jared Genser, cofounder of the Neurorights Foundation, which supported the bill's passage, told The New York Times that data processed by consumer neurotechnology remains largely unregulated.
He said it escapes the kind of protections offered to, for example, patient data in a healthcare setting.
🌟We are proud to announce the unanimous approval of the Colorado neural data protection bill by the Senate. This bill represents a historic bipartisan step in declaring Colorado the first place in world to legally define and protect neural data as sensitive.🌟
A report published by the Neurorights Foundation found worrying signs of the potential for neurotechnology start-ups to share data with third parties, The Times reported.
"The things that people can do with this technology are great," Rep. Cathy Kipp, who introduced the Colorado bill, told the Times. "But we just think that there should be some guardrails in place for people who aren't intending to have their thoughts read and their biological data used."
A Walmart in Missouri is in the process of ditching self-checkout lanes in an effort to improve the in-store experience.
The company confirmed the decision to USA Today, saying the St. Louis-area Supercenter's changeover process will last for about two weeks in total.
Spokesperson Brian Little told the newspaper the decision was based on feedback from employees and customers, as well as local shopping patterns.
"We believe the change will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service," he said.
Walmart has over 4,700 US locations, and the company said at the time there was no plan to remove self-service kiosks from stores at a widespread scale.
Apart from removing the technology altogether at some stores, retailers, including Walmart, have taken a number of steps to address some of the challenges posed by self-checkout.
Earlier this year, BI reported several Walmart locations were limiting access to self-checkout lanes to users of either the company's Walmart+ or Spark delivery apps.
Researchers found that self-checkout drives a phenomenon known as "partial shrink," where inventory is lost due to customers failing to properly scan and pay for all of the items in their transactions.