Category: Business

• Thieves riding e-scooters stole two Bronze Age artifacts from the Ely Museum, police say.
• The stolen items, a gold torc necklace and bracelet, were among the museum's "most prized" objects.
• Cambridgeshire police have released security footage in the hope someone recognizes the thieves.

Authorities are hunting for two people who stole 3,000-year-old gold artifacts from a museum in England.

Cambridgeshire police said in a statement that thieves stole a gold torc necklace and a gold bracelet dating from the Bronze Age from the Ely Museum on Tuesday. Police said the two suspects were riding "e-scooters" at the time of the burglary.

Security camera footage of the break-in obtained by Business Insider shows two people wearing hoods pushing their way through a window before hurrying through the inside of the museum.

Ellie Hughes, the museum's curator, said in a statement that the museum is "devastated" by the loss of the items, which were significant to the "local heritage of the region."

"It is a huge blow after the incredible support from the community in acquiring the torc in 2017," Hughes said. "As a culturally significant object, it cannot be replaced. Our priority now is working with the police to locate the stolen objects."

The torc, a type of rigid necklace described by the museum as its "most prized object," was valued at about 220,000 pounds when the museum acquired it in 2017, according to BBC.

The torc weighs 730 grams and is made up of almost entirely pure gold, the museum says. A metal detectorist found the piece in 2015 while searching in a field. Museum historians believe the torc was buried to hide it from invading enemies or as an offering to a god.

The thieves broke into the museum at about 2 a.m., according to police. Detective Kiri Mazur said police released the footage hoping someone would recognize the two suspects.

"I am very keen to hear from anyone who may be able to provide information or saw two people on e-scooters in the vicinity of the museum, car park and pedestrian walkways at the back of the museum, the council offices, and the Grange Car Park, between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Tuesday," Mazur said.

• The percentage of "seriously underwater" mortgages rose in the first quarter. 
• In the US, 2.7% of homes carry a mortgage that's at least 25% more than the market value of the house. 
• That's according to ATTOM, which notes the South has seen a bigger jump in seriously underwater mortgages. 

The percentage of homes in the US that are worth significantly less than the mortgage they secure rose in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from ATTOM. 

The share of "seriously underwater" mortgages — defined as having a balance that's 25% more than the fair market value of the house — edged up from 2.6% to 2.7% nationally in early 2024. That translates to roughly one out of every in 37 homes, the real estate firm said in a report on Wednesday. 

Though the percentage of seriously underwater mortgaged homes rose slightly nationwide, it remains lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Interest rates have been elevated since 2022 as part of the Federal Reserve's effort to bring down inflation. With that effort, mortgage costs have gone up steadily for about two years, with home loan rates peaking last October at 8% while the market went through a particularly sharp bout of volatility. This week, the rate on the 30-year mortgage is hovering at about 7.1%. 

A mortgage can become significantly underwater if a buyer pays much more than what the home may be worth or if they don't have a large equity cushion that can protect against declines in value.  

ATTOM said the South and Midwest regions account for nine out of the 10 states with the highest share of seriously underwater mortgages. 

Zooming in, Kentucky's share of seriously underwater loans spiked to 8.3% from 6.3% in the quarter, with West Virginia rising to 5.4% from 4.4%. Oklahoma climbed to 6.1% from 5.5%, and Arkansas edged up to 5.7% from 5.2%.

Meanwhile, among 107 metropolitan areas with over 500,000 people, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, topped the list with 13.4% of all mortgages seriously underwater. New Orleans followed with 7.3%, trailed by Jackson, Mississippi at 6.5%, Little Rock, Arkansas at 6%, and Syracuse, New York at 5.6%.

• On cross-examination, Stormy Daniels was asked if she supports herself by "making phony sex appear real."
• "The sex is very real," the porn star protested, "just like the sex in that room" with Donald Trump.
• "If that story was not real I would have written it a lot better" quipped Daniels, who also writes and directs.

Stormy Daniels turned her second day of testimony into a tutorial on porn Thursday, insisting that the sex on screen is "very real" — just like the sex she says she had with Donald Trump.

There was one important distinction, the adult-film star suggested: sex with Trump would make a pretty bad porn movie.

"So you have a lot of experience making phony sex appear to be real?" defense lawyer Susan Necheles asked during a fiery morning cross-examination at the ongoing hush money trial in Manhattan.

As questions go, it was a zinger. Implicit in the question was an accusation — that Daniels has made a career out of lying about sex, including about an encounter she says she had with Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite in 2006.

But Daniels' answer was a zinger, too.

"Wow," the porn star responded, pausing briefly, then continuing.

"That's not how I'd put it. The sex is very real," she said. "Just like the sex in that room" with Trump.

"That's why it's pornography and not a B-movie," she explained.

The GOP frontrunner sat slouched at the defense table just 20 feet from Daniels, as she went on to suggest that her encounter with Trump would have made a pretty bad porn movie.

Necheles asked Daniels if she had a lot of experience writing porn scripts. Daniels had testified earlier that in addition to starring in some 200 porn flicks and compilations, she's written and directed 70 more.

"I have a lot of experience writing dialogue, not writing sex" she told Necheles. "Pretty sure we all know how to do that" without a script, Daniels quipped.

"If that story was untrue," she added, meaning the story of having sex with Trump, "I would have written it a lot better."

Laughter filled the courtroom, and several jurors smiled.

Earlier Thursday, Daniels was hammered by Necheles about recent tweets in which she referred to the GOP frontrunner as an "orange turd."

Necheles asked Daniels if she's been tweeting about how she's going to be "instrumental in putting President Trump in jail?"

"Show me where it says I'm going to be instrumental in putting President Trump in Jail," Daniels snapped back.

Daniels was shown one of her March tweets that read: "Exactly! Making me the best person to flush the orange turd down."

The tweet was in response to another tweet that said Trump's ex-personal attorney and former fixer Michael Cohen and Daniels "aka THE HUMAN TOILET" are the prosecution's star witnesses in the trial.

The tweet was then displayed on four large overhead screens in the courtroom — and on the computer monitor directly in front of Trump at the defense table.

"I don't see the word instrumental or jail," Daniels protested.

"What did you mean?" Necheles demanded.

"I don't know what I mean," Daniels answered defiantly.

"Ms. Daniels," Necheles pursued. "I'm asking you if you know what you meant when you said 'flush the orange turd.' You don't want to admit that you meant President Trump?"

"Oh I definitely meant pres— " Daniels then stopped herself before continuing — "Donald Trump."

Daniels' second day on the stand was a hot ticket.

Court officials said the lines to get into court on Thursday morning were the longest they've been since the trial kicked off with jury selection on April 15.

The long lines were not surprising, given the fireworks during her first day on the witness stand Tuesday.

On direct examination Tuesday by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Daniels described having "brief" sex with Trump in July 2006, in his penthouse suite during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Daniels made the jarring mention of his not using a condom. When she blurted out the words "missionary position," the defense objected, and the reference was stricken from the record.

The porn star has taunted Trump on Twitter in the past, calling him an "orange turd" and daring him, "Game on, Tiny." But she dropped her typically brash public persona in telling jurors that she felt frightened and ashamed after the encounter.

She also said she came forward with her story 10 years later, on the brink of the 2016 election, because she feared for her safety.

Sure, she wanted money, she conceded. But she also wanted to get out ahead of the story, she said. Getting her name on a non-disclosure contract was one way to "get out in front where you are safe — hide in plain view," Daniels said an attorney advised.

The sparks flew as Necheles began her cross-examination on Tuesday by demanding that Daniels admit she hates Trump. "Yes!" Daniels responded quickly.

The Manhattan district attorney's office alleges that Trump falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to keep her silent about the sex — an accusation Trump vehemently denies.

The payment, delivered by Cohen, was wired to Daniels 11 days before the election, according to prosecutors and records shown as evidence in the trial.

• Wall Street isn't to blame for the non-stop rise in housing prices, according to Capital Economics.
• The research firm said any legislation designed to block hedge funds from buying homes won't lower home prices.
• "Investor purchases make up only a small portion of all home sales," Capital Economics said.

The ongoing rise in home prices shouldn't be blamed on Wall Street, according to a Thursday note from Capital Economics.

The firm highlighted that the growing criticism of institutional investors buying up single-family homes is leading to potential legislation in Congress that would heavily tax hedge funds if they purchase investment properties.

The worry is that a surge in big investors buying up single-family homes is driving up prices, exacerbating a shortage in housing, and preventing younger people from becoming first-time home buyers.

But according to Capital Economics property economist Thomas Ryan, proposed legislation that would prevent Wall Street from buying up homes would do little to curb the record surge in home prices.

"We are skeptical about the effectiveness of such a policy in curbing house prices. That's because investor purchases make up only a small portion of all home sales," Ryan said.

Ryan highlighted that of the 425,000 homes that were sold in June 2022, investors only accounted for 12% of transactions. And most of those investor purchases were concentrated in small "Mom and Pop" investors who rent out a small number of properties close to their primary home.

Those small investors wouldn't be impacted by any legislation from Congress, which means the legislation would do very little to curb home prices.

"Even in 2021-2022, large institutions — defined by Realtor.com as those who have purchased more than 50 homes since 2001 — represented only one-third of all investor purchases, a proportion that has since slipped to 13%. 

To be clear, that's 13% of the 12% of homes that were purchased by investors, not 13% of all homes sold. 

Alternative investment giant Blackstone is one of the biggest institutional buyers of single-family rental homes. They own just over 60,000 homes, or about 0.06% of the 105 million single-family home market in the US. Blackstone says altogether, institutional investors own a collective 0.5% of the US housing market.

Those numbers, which are spread across countless regional housing markets, aren't big enough to have a sizable impact on US housing prices.

Instead, growing demand for homes from millennials and younger generations is driving the demand boom for homes, coupled with not enough homes being built in the decade after the housing market crash. 

"With their small national market share, claims that large institutions inflate house prices seem exaggerated. In our view, lawmakers are looking for a new scapegoat to blame for unaffordable housing. Therefore, even if the bill passes — which is unlikely in itself given other political priorities – it won't do much to lower house prices," Ryan concluded.

• Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new bundle service. 
• The new bundle will include Disney+, Hulu, and Max. 
• The streaming bundle will become available to viewers this summer. 

Disney Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new streaming bundle service combining Disney+, Hulu, and Max.

The companies unveiled the streaming bundle service on Wednesday in a press release. The move is reminiscent of traditional cable packages, which faltered in recent years as digital options became more available.

The bundle will bring brands like ABC, FX, Food Network, Marvel, HGTV, and CNN together under one roof.

"This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster films, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the very best brands and entertainment in streaming today," Joe Earley, president of direct-to-consumer at Disney Entertainment, said in the press release.

The streaming bundle will become available this summer with options for both ad-supported and ad-free plans. A Disney Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery representative told Business Insider that more details would be released once the launch date is set.

Disney already offers bundle packages for streamers, including its Disney Bundle Trio Basic plan that combines Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ with ads for $14.99 a month. Prices for the bundle depend on which plan viewers choose.

Disney became enmeshed with Hulu in 2019 when it struck a deal with Comcast to acquire a majority stake in the streaming company, according to CBS News.

Disney then took full control of Hulu in November 2023 after offering Comcast $8.6 billion. At the time, Disney CEO Bob Iger considered Hulu an important part of its efforts to broaden its audience, according to The Wall Street Journal.

More recently, Disney shared details about its streaming app during an earnings report on Tuesday. The company expects Disney + to earn profit for the first time in the fourth quarter. Streaming losses fell to $18 million, which is much less than the $659 million recorded at this time last year.

• JPMorgan's CEO of Asset & Wealth Management, Mary Callahan Erdoes, spoke with BI about AI.
• She believes curiosity is the key trait humans need to harness the potential of AI.
• "It has to be okay to ask the questions," Erdoes said.

JPMorgan's top exec believes a single human trait will define the winners of the AI age.

"Curiosity," Mary Callahan Erdoes, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase's Asset and Wealth Management division, told Business Insider in an interview. "It has to be OK to ask the questions, to not know, to not be afraid, and then to keep going with the questions."

Erdoes spoke Tuesday morning at "Leading with AI," a conference hosted by Harvard's Digital Data Design Institute and Harvard Business School, where the school's alums and leaders in business, technology, and academia discussed the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence. JPMorgan has also partnered with Harvard's Digital Data Design Institute to research ways to leverage the technology across its business.

At JPMorgan, Erdoes said conversations about AI are happening "every day" and that she engages with the technology frequently. She believes successfully implementing AI requires curiosity from employees at all ranks — from managers at the top to workers at the bottom.

"If we can infuse that in all of our people, we will move faster to get to what we all really want to get to," and that's understanding if there are "entirely new products, processes, procedures, solutions for clients," she said.

She said that once people learn to leverage AI, they can "make the gunk go faster" in their jobs and help clients in more complex ways.

The looming threat of AI is that it'll advance to the point where it eliminates some jobs. But Erdoes hopes it will only eliminate "the no-joy" work that "people shouldn't have to do."

"Companies that take their employees through that journey and they combine the human with the AI to augment their job, their joy and the ability to serve the client will be successful," She said.

• Rich Otto, former head of product launches at Tesla, said he resigned last week.
• The executive said the recent Tesla layoffs have thrown the company "out of balance."
• Otto's departure follows six other senior-level Tesla executives leaving in recent weeks.

Tesla keeps shedding executives.

Rich Otto, the former head of product launches at Tesla, said on Wednesday that he'd made the decision to resign last week amid the mass layoffs at the company.

"It's a company I love and that has given me so much, but has also taken its pound of flesh," Otto wrote on LinkedIn. "Great companies are made up of equal parts great people and great products, and the latter are only possible when its people are thriving. The recent layoffs that are rocking the company and its morale have thrown this harmony out of balance and it's hard to see the long-game. It was time for a change."

Otto worked at Tesla for over six years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He said in the post that there are many things he'll miss about Tesla and he plans to take a break for a while before jumping into another project.

Otto and a spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The executive is one of a handful of higher-ups that have left Tesla over the past month. Six other executives, including the senior director of HR and the senior director of Supercharging, have left the carmaker amid the series of layoffs.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk kickstarted a series of layoffs on April 15 when he told staff he planned to cut more than 10% of the company's workforce. On Monday, Tesla workers entered their fourth week of layoff notices.

Do you work for Tesla or have insight to share? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at gkay@businessinsider.com

• Mitzi Lacerna, 28, said she's been working two full-time jobs since 2021. 
• Lacerna, who is based in San Francisco, said she regularly works over 80 hours a week. 
• Lacerna aims to save $100,000 and advises others with similar goals to "live below" their means. 

Mitzi Lacerna is on a mission.

Lacerna, a 28-year-old part-time content creator near San Francisco, wants to save $100,000 to put toward a down payment to buy a house.

To do that, she's working two full-time jobs: one as a barista earning $27.94 an hour, and one as an overnight attendant at an apartment building earning $22 an hour. (Business Insider verified Lacerna's April paystubs.)

Lacerna told Business Insider via email that she began working multiple jobs after immigrating to the US from the Philippines in 2018. However, it wasn't until 2021 that she took on the two 40-hour-a-week gigs.

Lacerna is one of many people in the US who voluntarily work more than one job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that around 8.4 million Americans, or roughly 5.2% of the US workforce, worked multiple jobs in April — though that figure also includes people who hold down several part-time jobs.

Business Insider's Jacob Zinkula — who has interviewed many people working multiple jobs, also known as being overemployed — found that their reasons vary but include saving money for retirement, dream vacations, and weight-loss drugs.

Unlike Lacerna, Zinkula reports that many overemployed people work remotely in IT or other corners of the tech industry. Companies have different policies on employees working multiple jobs — some allow it, while others don't, which means anyone choosing to do so secretly could risk being fired.

Working two jobs is no easy feat, but Lacerna said in an email she's "more than halfway" to reaching her $100,000 target and has "already saved $52,000."

Working over 80 hours a week isn't for the fainthearted

Lacerna's strategy is simple.

"I save everything from my highest-paying job, and live off one paycheck for my spending," she said in an email.

Her schedule, however, is draining.

From 7 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Lacerna said she's on her feet working as a barista at a tech company.

Later, from around 10 p.m. to 6:50 a.m., Lacerna clocks in for her role as a "resident relations specialist" at the front desk of a residential condominium building.

Lacerna regularly posts glimpses of her life on TikTok. In March, she shared a video with highlights of a typical day in response to a user who accused her of faking her schedule. That post went viral, amassing more than 25.8 million views.

Some TikTok users commented on Lacerna's schedule, citing the potential for sleep deprivation.

While sleep requirements vary from person to person, experts recommend adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. Anything less can result in mild to severe health consequences.

Lacerna said in an email that she sometimes only gets two or three hours of sleep on days when she works both jobs.

In the email, she said that because she has Tuesday and Wednesday nights off from the front desk job and Saturday and Sunday mornings off from the coffee shop, she can get between six and eight hours of sleep on those days.

Lacerna also tries to sneak in extra shut-eye whenever she can.

"I take naps during my 15-minute break and 30-minute break on both jobs," she added in an email.

Working two jobs allows her to aggressively save money

Lacerna knows that her schedule is tougher than most.

But it hasn't dissuaded her from her goal, which she is working toward by religiously tracking the money coming in and out of her accounts and "spending mindfully."

"I am saving aggressively this year," Lacerna said on email. "I haven't spent anything on new clothes, new shoes, new bags, and even new skincare."

She said this year, she hopes to cut down her spending on rideshare apps and food delivery.

Lacerna said she knows her schedule is "not always possible for everyone." But for those inspired by her work ethic and savings strategy, her best advice is simply to "live below" your means.

Lacerna doesn't plan to hold down two full-time jobs forever.

When she reaches her goal of saving $100,000, she plans to quit one of her current jobs and study medical coding.

• Last year's job cuts weren't the end of layoffs. Further reductions have begun in 2024.
• Companies like Tesla, Google, Microsoft, Nike, and Amazon have announced plans for cuts this year.
• See the full list of corporations reducing their worker numbers in 2024.

A slew of companies across the tech, media, finance, and retail industries made significant cuts to staff in 2023. Tech titans like IBM, Google, Microsoft, finance giants like Goldman Sachs, and manufacturers like Dow all announced layoffs.

This year is looking grim too. And it's only May.

Nearly 40% of business leaders surveyed by ResumeBuilder think layoffs are likely at their companies this year, and about half say their companies will implement a hiring freeze. ResumeBuilder talked to about 900 leaders at organizations with more than 10 employees. Half of those surveyed cited concerns about a recession as a reason.

Another major factor is artificial intelligence. Around four in 10 respondents said they'll conduct layoffs as they replace workers with AI. Dropbox, Google, and IBM have already announced job cuts related to AI.

Here are the dozens of companies with job cuts planned or already underway in 2024.

Nike's up-to-$2 billion cost-cutting plan will involve severances.

Nike announced its cost-cutting plans in a December 2023 earnings call, discussing a slow growth in sales. The call subsequently resulted in Nike's stock plunging.

"We are seeing indications of more cautious consumer behavior around the world," Nike Chief Financial Officer Matt Friend said in December.

Google laid off hundreds more workers in 2024.

On January 10, Google laid off hundreds of workers in its central engineering division and members of its hardware teams — including those working on its voice-activated assistant.

In an email to some affected employees, the company encouraged them to consider applying for open positions at Google if they want to remain employed. According to the email, April 9 will be the last day for those unable to secure a new position.

The tech giant laid off thousands throughout 2023, beginning with a 6% reduction of its global workforce (about 12,000 people) last January.

Discord is laying off 170 employees.

Discord employees learned about the layoffs in an all-hands meeting and a memo sent by CEO Jason Citron in early January.

"We grew quickly and expanded our workforce even faster, increasing by 5x since 2020," Citron said in the memo. "As a result, we took on more projects and became less efficient in how we operated."

In August 2023, Discord reduced its headcount by 4%. According to CNBC, the company was valued at $15 billion in 2021.

Citi will cut 20,000 from its staff as part of its corporate overhaul.

The layoffs announced in January are part of a larger Citigroup initiative to restructure the business and could leave the company with a remaining head count of 180,000 — excluding its Mexico operations.

In an earnings call that month, the bank said that layoffs could save the company up to $2.5 billion after it suffered a "very disappointing" final quarter last year.

Amazon-owned Twitch also announced job cuts.

Twitch announced on January 10 that it would cut 500 jobs, affecting over a third of the employees at the live-streaming company.

CEO Dan Clancy announced the layoffs in a memo, telling staff that while the company has tried to cut costs, the operation is "meaningfully" bigger than necessary.

"As you all know, we have worked hard over the last year to run our business as sustainably as possible," Clancy wrote. "Unfortunately, we still have work to do to rightsize our company and I regret having to share that we are taking the painful step to reduce our headcount by just over 500 people across Twitch."

BlackRock is planning to cut 3% of its staff.

Larry Fink, BlackRock's chief executive, and Rob Kapito, the firm's president, announced in January that the layoffs would affect around 600 people from its workforce of about 20,000.

However, the company has plans to expand in other areas to support growth in its overseas markets.

"As we prepare for 2024 and this very exciting but distinctly different landscape, businesses across the firm have developed plans to reallocate resources," the company leaders said in a memo.

Rent the Runway is slashing 10% of its corporate jobs as part of a restructuring.

In the fashion company's January announcement, COO and president Anushka Salinas said she will also be leaving the firm, Fast Company reported.

Unity Software is eliminating 25% of its workforce.

Around 1,800 jobs at the video game software company will be affected by the layoffs announced, Reuters reported in January.

eBay is cutting 1,000 jobs.

In a January 23 memo, CEO Jamie Iannone told employees that the eBay layoffs will affect about 9% of the company's workforce.

Iannone told employees that layoffs were necessary as the company's "overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business."

The company also plans to scale back on contractors.

Microsoft is reducing its headcount by 1,900 at Activision, Xbox, and ZeniMax.

In late January, nearly three months after Microsoft acquired video game firm Activision Blizzard, the company announced layoffs in its gaming divisions. The layoffs mostly affect employees at Activision Blizzard.

"As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a memo obtained by The Verge.

The cuts come a year after the tech giant announced it was reducing its workforce by 10,000 employees. It then slashed a further 1,000 roles across sales and customer service teams in July 2023.

Salesforce is cutting 700 employees across the company, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Salesforce announced a round of layoffs that the company says will affect 1% of its global workforce, The Journal reported in late January.

The cuts followed a wave of cuts at the cloud giant last year. In 2023, Marc Benioff's company laid off about 10% of its total workforce — or roughly 7,000 jobs. The CEO said the company over-hired during the pandemic.

Flexport lays off 15% of its workers.

In late January, the US logistics startup laid off 15% of its staff which is around 400 workers.

The move came after Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen initiated a 20% reduction of its workforce of an estimated 2,600 employees in October.

Flexport kicked off 2024 with the announcement that it raised $260 million from Shopify and made "massive progress toward returning Flexport to profitability."

iRobot is laying off around 350 employees and founder Colin Angle will step down as chairman and CEO.

The company behind the Roomba Vacuum announced layoffs in late January around the same time Amazon decided not to go through with its proposed acquisition of the company, the Associated Press reported.

UPS will cut 12,000 jobs in 2024.

The UPS layoffs will affect 14% of the company's 85,000 managers and could save the company $1 billion in 2024, UPS CEO Carol Tomé said during a January earnings call.

Paypal CEO Alex Chriss announced the company would lay off 9% of its workforce.

Announced in late January, this round of layoffs will affect about 2,500 employees at the payment processing company.

"We are doing this to right-size our business, allowing us to move with the speed needed to deliver for our customers and drive profitable growth," CEO Alex Chriss wrote in a January memo. "At the same time, we will continue to invest in areas of the business we believe will create and accelerate growth."

Okta is cutting roughly 7% of its workforce.

The digital-access-management company announced its plans for a "restructuring plan intended to improve operating efficiencies and strengthen the Company's commitment to profitable growth" in an SEC filing in February.

The cuts will impact roughly 400 employees.

Okta CEO Todd McKinnon told staff in a memo that "costs are still too high," CNBC reported.

Snap has announced more layoffs.

The company behind Snapchat announced in February that it's reducing its global workforce by 10%, according to an SEC filing.

Estée Lauder said it will eliminate up to 3,100 positions.

The cosmetics company announced in February that it would be cutting 3% to 5% of its roles as part of a restructuring plan.

Estee Lauder reportedly employed about 62,000 employees around the world as of June 30, 2023.

DocuSign is eliminating roughly 6% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan.

The electronic signature company said in an SEC filing in February that most of the cuts will be in its sales and marketing divisions.

Zoom is slashing 150 jobs.

The latest reduction announced in February amounts to about 2% of its workforce.

Paramount Global is laying off 800 employees days after record-breaking Super Bowl.

In February, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish sent a memo to employees announcing that 800 jobs — about 3% of its workforce — were being cut.

Deadline obtained the memo less than a month after reporting plans for layoffs at Paramount. The announcement comes on the heels of Super Bowl LVIII reaching record-high viewership across CBS, Paramount+, and Nickelodeon, and Univision.

Morgan Stanley is trimming its wealth management division by hundreds of staffers.

Morgan Stanley is laying off several hundred employees in its wealth-management division, the Wall Street Journal reported in February, representing roughly 1% of the team.

The wealth-management division has seen some slowdown in recent months, with net new assets down by about 8% from a year ago. The layoffs mark the first major move by newly-installed CEO Ted Pick, who took the reins from James Gorman on January 1.

Cisco slashes more than 4,000 jobs amid corporate tech sales slowdown.

In February, networking company Cisco announced it was slashing 5% of its workforce, or upwards of 4,000 jobs, Bloomberg reported.

The company said it was restructuring after an industry-wide pullback in corporate tech spending — which execs said they expect to continue through the first half of the year.

Expedia Group is cutting more than 8% of its workforce.

Cutbacks part of an operational review at online travel giant Expedia Group are expected to impact 1,500 roles this year, a company spokesperson told BI.

The company's product and technology division is set to be the worst hit, a report from GeekWire said, citing an internal memo CEO Peter Kern sent to employees in late February.

"While this review will result in the elimination of some roles, it also allows the company to invest in core strategic areas for growth," the spokesperson said.

"Consultation with local employee representatives, where applicable, will occur before making any final decisions," they added.

Sony is laying off 900 workers

The cuts at Sony Interactive Entertainment swept through its game-making teams at PlayStation Studios.

Insomniac Games, which developed the hit Spider-Man video game series, as well as Naughty Dog, the developers behind Sony's flagship 'The Last of Us' video games' were hit by the cuts, the company announced on February 27.

All of PlayStation's London studio will be shuttered, according to the proposal.

"Delivering and sustaining social, online experiences – allowing PlayStation gamers to explore our worlds in different ways – as well as launching games on additional devices such as PC and Mobile, requires a different approach and different resources," PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst wrote.

Hulst added that some games in development will be shut down, though he didn't say which ones.

In early February, Sony said it missed its target for selling PlayStation 5 consoles. The earnings report sent shares tumbling and the company's stock lost about $10 billion in value.

Bumble is slashing 30% of its workforce

On February 27, the dating app company announced that it would be reducing its staff due to "future strategic priorities" for its business, per a statement.

The cuts will impact about 30% of its about 1,200 person workforce or about 350 roles, a representative for Bumble told BI by email.

"We are taking significant and decisive actions that ensure our customers remain at the center of everything we do as we relaunch Bumble App, transform our organization and accelerate our product roadmap," Bumble Inc CEO Lidiane Jones said in a statement.

Electronic Arts is reducing its workforce by 5%

Electronic Arts is laying off about 670 workers, equating to 5% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported in late February.

The gaming firm axed two mobile games earlier in February, which it described as a difficult decision in a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz.

CEO Andrew Wilson reportedly told employees in a memo that it would be "moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry."

Wilson also said in the memo that the cuts came as a result of shifting customer needs and a refocusing of the company, Bloomberg reported.

IBM cutting staff in marketing and communications

IBM's chief communications officer Jonathan Adashek told employees on March 12 that it would be cutting staff, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

An IBM spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement that the cuts follow a broader workforce action the company announced during its earnings call in January.

"In 4Q earnings earlier this year, IBM disclosed a workforce rebalancing charge that would represent a very low single-digit percentage of IBM's global workforce, and we expect to exit 2024 at roughly the same level of employment as we entered with," they said.

IBM has also been clear about the impact of AI on its workforce. Last May, IBM's CEO Arvind Krishna said the company expected to pause hiring on roles that could be replaced by AI, especially in areas like human resources and other non-consumer-facing departments.

"I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period," Krishna told Bloomberg at the time.

Stellantis is slashing 400 white-collar jobs

On March 22, the owner of Jeep and Dodge announced it's laying off employees on its engineering, technology, and software teams in an effort to cut costs, CNBC reported.

Workers learned they were being let go through video calls after the car company ordered them to work remotely for the day. The cuts are set to occur on March 31.

Amazon is laying off hundreds in its cloud division in yet another round of cuts this year

Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs from its cloud division known as Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg reported on April 3.

The reduction will impact employees on the sales and marketing team and those working on tech for its retail stores, Bloomberg reported.

"We've identified a few targeted areas of the organization we need to streamline in order to continue focusing our efforts on the key strategic areas that we believe will deliver maximum impact," an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg.

On March 26, Amazon announced another round of job cuts after the company said it was slashing 'several hundred' jobs at its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions earlier this year to refocus on more profitable products.

"We've identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact," Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, told employees in January.

This year's cuts follow the largest staff layoff in the company's history. In 2023, the tech giant laid off 18,000 workers.

Apple has cut over 600 employees in California

Apple has slashed its California workforce by more than 600 employees.

The cuts follow Apple's decision to withdraw from its car and smartwatch display projects.

The tech giant filed a series of notices to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification program. One of the addresses was linked to a new display development office, while the others were for the company's EV effort, Bloomberg reported.

Apple officially shut down its decadelong EV project in February. At the time, Bloomberg reported that some employees would move to generative AI, but others would be laid off.

Bloomberg noted that the layoffs were likely an undercount of the full scope of staff cuts, as Apple had staff working on these projects in other locations.

Representatives for Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside normal business hours.

Tesla is laying off over 10% of its workforce

Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a memo to employees Sunday, April 14, at nearly midnight in California, informing them of the company's plan to cut over 10% of its global workforce.

In his companywide memo, Musk cited "duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas" as the reason behind the reductions.

An email sent to terminated employees obtained by BI read: "Effective now, you will not need to perform any further work and therefore will no longer have access to Tesla systems and physical locations."

On April 29, Musk reportedly sent an email stating the need for more layoffs at Tesla. He also announced the departure of two executives and said that their reports would also be let go. Six known Tesla executives have left the company since layoffs began in April.

Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two Interactive is reducing its workforce by 5%

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, said on April 16 that it would be "eliminating several projects" and reducing its workforce by about 5%.

The move — a part of its larger "cost reduction program" — will cost the video game publisher up to $200 million. It's expected to be completed by December 31.

As of March 2023, the company said it employed approximately 11,580 full-time workers.

Peloton is reducing its staff by 15% as the CEO steps down as well

Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down, the company announced May 2. Along with his departure, the fitness company is also laying off about 400 workers.

McCarthy is leaving his role just two years after replacing John Foley as CEO and president in 2022. Peloton said the changes are expected to reduce annual expenses by over $200 million by the end of fiscal 2025 as part of a larger restructuring plan.

Microsoft-owned Xbox is cutting more jobs

Xbox is offering some employees voluntary severance packages in May after shutting three units and absorbing a fourth earlier in the month. Microsoft had already made cuts to the division at the start of 2024.

According to Bloomberg, the offers were extended to producers, quality assurance testers, and more staff at Xbox-owned ZeniMax. Others across the Xbox organization were told that more cuts are coming.

Xbox president Matt Booty told staff in a May 8 town hall that the studio closures are part of an effort to free up more resources, Bloomberg reported.

• Baidu's public relations lead just made a major PR blunder.
• Qu Jing, executive at the Chinese firm, posted several videos online encouraging extreme work. 
• In one video, she claimed she could destroy the careers of employees who failed to comply.

The public relations lead at Baidu has reportedly left the Chinese internet giant, according to state media, just days after posting videos online ripping into staff who disagreed with her extreme work expectations.

Qu Jing, a senior executive at the Beijing-based firm, recently posted a number of videos to Douyin, China's version of TikTok, in which she set out the brutally tough working conditions that she expected of her staff.

In one video, reported by the FT, the Baidu PR executive said she expected employees to be prepared to travel for 50 consecutive days of business with her. She also suggested she had no regard for their wellbeing, claiming that she was not their mother. "I only care about results," she said.

Qu's message to those who disagreed with her position was more threatening: "I can make you jobless in this industry," the FT reported.

The posts triggered a flurry of criticism on Chinese social media, and brought fresh scrutiny to the country's work culture having gained notoriety in recent years for allowing difficult — and often illegal practices — to take hold.

One user on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, wrote that "employees will never feel at home at a company that doesn't have even a little bit of warmth," according to the FT.

In a post on WeChat, Baidu PR lead Qu acknowledged the criticism leveled at her, writing: "I deeply reflect on and humbly accept them."

The saga has proven to be detrimental for Qu, after it emerged on Thursday that she had left the company, according to a report by Chinese publication the Economic Review, first cited by CNN.

Baidu did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Work-life balance has been a contentious issue in China in recent years, with the "996" system — once endorsed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma — facing a regulatory clampdown in 2021. The system expected workers to put in toil from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

Elon Musk, who advocated for "hardcore" work following his takeover of Twitter, has recently been reported to have built close ties with Baidu through his electric vehicle company, Tesla.