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Why is Microsoft, the world's most valuable company, cutting workers?

Business / Business News /

Microsoft is laying off more than 6,000 employees in an effort to streamline its corporate ranks.

The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said Tuesday that the layoffs, which will affect almost 2,000 workers in Washington state, are meant in part to strip away layers of management and create more nimble teams.

Sound familiar?

Microsoft ...Read more

THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Auto supplier Bosch has big North American growth plans

Business / Business News /

North America had the largest sales increase globally for Robert Bosch GmbH in 2024, growing 5% year-over-year, the German auto supplier said Wednesday.

The privately owned manufacturer posted in North America consolidated sales of $17.3 billion (16 billion euros) and net sales of $18.6 billion, which included sales of non-consolidated ...Read more

Prometheus Hyperscale/TNS

US data center to add batteries without lithium mined overseas

Business / Business News /

A data center builder and a battery startup have agreed to deploy a novel type of energy storage for the first time at a U.S. data center. It’s the latest example of tech companies’ search for ways to manage the soaring energy needs of artificial intelligence.

Prometheus Hyperscale and XL Batteries will install what’s known as an organic...Read more

Anthony Soufflé/Star Tribune/TNS

Clean energy developer suspends wind project in Minnesota, cites tariffs as a factor

Business / Business News /

A clean energy developer is temporarily halting its proposed wind farm in southwest Minnesota, saying the Trump administration’s tariffs are partly to blame.

The decision has alarmed some clean energy advocates, who say President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war is making the already difficult process of connecting renewable energy projects...Read more

TYGER WILLIAMS/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Weed instead of wine? What Pennsylvania's state-run weed stores could look like if recreational cannabis is legalized

Business / Business News /

Imagine walking into a Pennsylvania State Store — not for wine, but for weed.

That’s the vision behind a newly passed bill in the state House, which proposes legalizing recreational marijuana and selling it exclusively through state-run cannabis shops. Modeled after the Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, the proposal would make Pennsylvania ...Read more

Robin Buckson/The Detroit News/TNS

Inside this 'virtual reality arena,' Stellantis aims to build a better car factory

Business / Business News /

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Deep inside the sprawling Chrysler Technology Center is a metal structure equipped with sensors that Stellantis NV engineers call their "virtual reality arena."

Stepping into this VR laboratory, the engineers don headsets, pick up controllers, and are virtually transported to an assembly line inside any one of the ...Read more

Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Jamie Lee Curtis just wanted an AI ad removed, not to become the 'poster child of internet fakery'

Business / Business News /

Jamie Lee Curtis didn't expect to be at the forefront of the artificial intelligence debate in Hollywood. But she didn't have a choice.

The Oscar-winning actor recently called out Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on social media, saying the company ignored her requests to take down a fake AI-generated advertisement on Instagram that had ...Read more

Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times/TNS

Supply chain pro says tariffs affect not just economy, but national security

Business / Business News /

The U.S. needs global trade. However, the country needs to be smart about the policies around it, including tariffs, one local expert says.

Scott Martens — who cut his supply-chain chops in the military, worked for Twin Cities companies and now is a University of St. Thomas professor — says the discussion around supply chains and tariffs ...Read more

Jim Rossman/Jim Rossman/TNS

Tech review: Gaming monitor does double duty as a video streamer

Business / Business News /

Where I work, I get to choose if I have a desktop or a laptop.

We buy Dell computers and our preferred configurations for desktops and laptops are very close in cost.

Because I work on my computer all day, and we have more than one office, I chose a laptop so I can pick it up and take it with me when I’m working at one of our other buildings...Read more

Steve Fecht/General Motors/TNS

GM plans cheaper battery cells for electric SUVs and trucks

Business / Business News /

General Motors Co. on Tuesday announced plans to make cheaper battery cells for electric trucks and SUVs at a U.S. plant beginning in 2028.

The Detroit automaker says it will begin commercial production of lithium manganese-rich cells at an Ultium Cells plants in Ohio or Tennessee. Ultium Cells is a joint venture between GM and LG Energy ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's Mideast visit opens floodgate of AI deals led by Nvidia

Business / Business News /

The Trump administration is clearing a path for two key Persian Gulf allies to pursue their artificial intelligence ambitions — and some of the biggest US tech companies are seizing on that opening with plans to spend billions of dollars in the region.

Under agreements with the US expected to be unveiled in coming days, Saudi Arabia and the ...Read more

Canadian electric minibus manufacturer to open its first US plant in Illinois

Business / Business News /

As Lion Electric faces liquidation and the auction of its shuttered Joliet, Illinois, electric bus factory, the state has announced another Canadian EV bus manufacturer will be opening a plant in Peoria, Illinois.

Damera Corp., an Ontario-based electric bus company, plans to invest $31.5 million and create 90 full-time jobs to open its first U....Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

New Georgia law shields Roundup maker from some cancer-related lawsuits

Business / Business News /

Manufacturers of chemicals that make pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides for crops will soon be shielded from Georgians who say the companies did not sufficiently warn consumers of health risks.

The Georgia Legislature passed legislation that aims to protect Bayer from lawsuits where customers have claimed there were no warnings that the ...Read more

Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Trump administration turns to Elon Musk's Boring Co. for advice on Baltimore tunnel project

Business / Business News /

Looking to cut costs on Amtrak’s project to replace an aging West Baltimore tunnel, rail officials under the Trump administration have been talking with Elon Musk’s tunneling company, The Boring Co.

The talks surround a potential engineering contract for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel project near Penn Station, a major undertaking by Amtrak ...Read more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

Family of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett settles wrongful-death lawsuit

Business / Business News /

The family of whistleblower John “Mitch” Barnett has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against Boeing that blames the company for Barnett’s suicide in March 2024.

U.S. District Judge Bruce Hendricks dismissed the case on Monday, according to court documents.

The court order did not include any details about the resolution of the lawsuit ...Read more

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Google unveils major Android redesign ahead of iPhone overhaul

Business / Business News /

Google unveiled the biggest update to its Android mobile operating system in years, weeks before its biggest competitor in the space, Apple Inc., is expected to give a preview of its overhauled iPhone software.

The Alphabet Inc. unit is rolling out a new, bolder design language — called Material 3 Expressive — that spans the entire Android ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Ford cuts 5% of connected-vehicle software team

Business / Business News /

Ford Motor Co. is cutting about 350 connected-vehicle software jobs in the United States and Canada to align worker skillsets with the goals of the company, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

The reductions amount to about 5% of the connected-vehicle software team, the people who weren't permitted to speak publicly on the ...Read more

Lukas Schulze/Getty Images North America/TNS

IG Metall says it'll strike Ford in Germany

Business / Business News /

Workers at Ford Motor Co.'s electric vehicle plants in Cologne, Germany, are expected to launch a 24-hour strike Wednesday as the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker has promised to cut thousands of jobs in Europe.

Ford in November said it plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs by the end of 2027, mostly in the United Kingdom and Germany. Underperforming EV ...Read more

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images North America/TNS

Microsoft layoffs may hit 3% of global workforce

Business / Business News /

Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it’s laying off thousands of employees across the company.

The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant didn’t disclose how many employees it plans to lay off, but a spokesperson said up to 3% of Microsoft’s workforce could be affected. Microsoft has 228,000 employees worldwide, meaning more than 6,800 people ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Insurers seek to surcharge California homeowners for LA County fire costs

Business / Business News /

Insurers are seeking to charge homeowners across California for some of the costs of the catastrophic Los Angeles County fires the companies were burdened with when the state's insurer of last resort needed a bailout.

The California FAIR Plan Association, with the approval of state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, assessed its member ...Read more