(This article is part of Today’s Cache, The Hindu’s newsletter on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, innovation and policy. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.)
Apple lays off more than 600 employees
Apple is letting go of 614 workers based in California as part of the company’s first major post-pandemic round of job cuts. The workers were informed of their dismissal in late March and they are to leave near the end of May. As companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft let go of hundreds or even thousands of workers in the past two years, Apple marked far fewer layoffs. However, the more than 600 workers were laid off from eight offices in Santa Clara, per official filings made to the state.
Apple is currently diversifying its portfolio of products as it comes under legal fire in the U.S. for the way it operates its app store and messaging service. Apart from developing an ecosystem around its Vision Pro headset, there were reports that the iPhone-maker is also working on concepts such as a robotic tabletop device and a personal robot that can follow users around their homes.
X faces legal hurdles in Brazil
Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) is embroiled in a legal tussle with Brazil’s administration, as the platform said it would not comply with account blocking orders issued by the country. While the blocked accounts and the media they posted is still unclear, X and its owner both publicly condemned the move, which they said was led by Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Moraes.
Musk claimed that the judge had applied “massive fines,” threatened to arrest X employees, and threatened to shut down X in the country as a whole, but said he was determined to move forward with his actions. In response, Judge Moraes added Musk to his original investigation and also opened an inquiry into the social media platform, citing an obstruction of justice.
Disney to take aim at password sharers
From this June, people sharing their Disney streaming account passwords with friends or family members may be stopped from doing so, as the company looks to increase its profit margins by boosting customer engagement. In order to do this, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the company would be cracking down on password sharing, similar to what Netflix has done in the past.
While password sharing restrictions are generally unpopular with watchers, the move has resulted in more subscribers and profit growth for Netflix in the past year. Disney, meanwhile, is trying to move past significant losses and is doing so by investing in app consolidation. The recent addition of Hulu, for example, has brought in new viewers who may not have otherwise paid for a Disney subscription.
