Technology Newsletter on 22/6/2023

Grab announces layoffs of 1,000 employees, CEO admits ‘very painful’

According to CNBC, Singapore-based Grab Holdings will cut more than 1,000 jobs. The company’s chief executive said on Tuesday that the move was part of an effort to manage costs and reorganize the company amid increasingly stiff competition.

In an email to employees, CEO Anthony Tan said the layoffs were a “painful but necessary step” that the ride-hailing and food-delivery app operator must take to stay afloat. future competitiveness.

CEO Tan said: “The main goal of this operation is to strategically reorganize the company, so that we can move faster, work smarter, and rebalance resources in our portfolio. align with longer-term strategies”.

This is Grab’s biggest layoff since 2020, when the group cut 360 jobs in response to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even without layoffs, CEO Tan said Grab is on track to break even this year. In February, the company said it was moving its breakeven target to the fourth quarter of 2023, half a year earlier than previously anticipated.

The CEO said the job cuts are not a “shortcut to profitability” but will help Grab adapt to the business environment and the rapid development of AI.

CEO Tan said Grab will provide severance pay and support to pay health insurance for employees who are laid off until the end of the year. They also receive support for repatriation, transition and career development, among other payments.

The announcement comes after Grab COO Alex Hungate told Reuters in September that the company did not expect mass layoffs despite weaker economic conditions. Mr. Hungate said Grab was “very careful and cautious in any recruitment activities”.

Major US tech companies like Amazon and Meta have ramped up hiring during the pandemic as lockdown measures boost business. Many companies subsequently laid off tens of thousands of workers as business conditions returned to or approached pre-pandemic conditions.

Grab posted strong revenue growth and narrow losses in 2022, citing a recovery in mobility demand.

Tuesday’s announcement is the latest round of layoffs among major tech companies in Southeast Asia. In March, Indonesia’s GoTo announced it was laying off 600 employees to boost profits, while Singapore-based Sea cut more than 7,000 jobs in the last six months of 2022.

Mark Zuckerberg has just given users a reason to boycott Facebook

A Delaware couple have been accused of conspiring to traffic people and slaves for decades via Facebook. The platform is mainly used to find and control vulnerable women with a history of drug use to scam. Evidence from DHS also shows that the target audience includes women with previous convictions who are looking for work after being released from prison.

According to court documents cited by Forbes, 66-year-old Clifton Gibbs, assisted by his “right-hand man” Brooke Walters, will find victims in Facebook and other neighborhoods with high levels of drug abuse. Last March, DHS also accused Gibbs of communicating via Facebook with a man who ran a nonprofit organization dedicated to “helping” female prisoners. Gibbs first paid for their photographs, then pretended to send them to Delaware, claiming to be “assisting” the prisoners. According to the Justice Department, the trick was part of a “plan to recruit vulnerable people”.

After taking control of the victim, Gibbs asked them to do a variety of jobs, from stealing (and then reselling on Facebook Marketplace) to cleaning the house, taking care of him. According to the testimony of 1 of the 13 victims, someone stole items worth about 100,000 USD.

The incident sheds more light on the type of crime that experts say has existed for so many years on Facebook. In March of this year, several pension funds and investment funds that own Meta shares also filed lawsuits accusing Mark Zuckerberg and his management of turning a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking. In 2021, leaked documents were also accessed by the WSJ, indicating that Facebook abets slavery activities in the Middle East and Africa.

If the above allegations are proven to be true, the case surrounding a man named Gibbs will paint a terrible picture of reality for victims in the US – who are coerced, controlled and forced to participate. Join a dangerous criminal organization through social networks.

Data from Polaris, which operates a national hotline for victims of slavery, shows that Facebook was the site of greatest relevance throughout 2020 and 2021 (data from 2022 is yet to be released). complete.) Based on calls through the hotline in 2021, it was found that up to 10% of exploitative sex or labor recruitment practices originate from Facebook. With Instagram, the rate is at 7%.

Explaining why Facebook continues to be popular with traffickers, Polaris’ communications director Rafael Flores Ávalos says it’s likely because Meta users frequently share about their lives. . “Once you share a certain amount of information about your personal life, the process of reaching victims of human trafficking rings becomes easy,” said Rafael Flores Ávalos, noting that there is growing There is a significant increase in the use of Facebook and Instagram.

In response, Facebook spokesperson Erin McPike said, “We’re working with law enforcement,” noting that Meta has invested heavily in technology and partnered with organizations. like Polaris to deal with the situation. The US attorney’s office in Delaware, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment. Lawyers for Gibbs also did not give any information.

Meanwhile, the government has been collecting vast amounts of data from Facebook to build prosecution evidence. 89,000 pages of documents were accessed, showing Gibbs regularly used Facebook to commit fraud. The Justice Department said the disclosure of such massive data was “particularly remarkable”.

VinFast “lowers standards”: The US company that is about to be merged will move from the NYSE to the NYSE American

Black Spade Acquisition Co. (Black Space) – the SPAC company that is about to merge with VinFast has just submitted a dossier to the US securities regulator, saying that this company will transfer class A common shares and warrants from the New York Stock Exchange (the New York Stock Exchange). New York Stock Exchange – NYSE) to NYSE American, effective from June 21, 2023.

The Company expects to begin trading under the current tickers “BSAQU”, “BSAQ” and “BSAQWS” for its units, Class A common stock and warrants respectively upon opening of trading on the NYSE. American. The company will continue to trade on the NYSE until the close of trading on June 20, 2023, after which Black Spade Acquisition Co. will be delisted from the NYSE.

Previously, in May, VinFast and Black Spade announced a business merger agreement. After the transaction, VinFast has a valuation of more than 23 billion USD and continues to plan to list on the US stock exchange. Recently, VinFast said it will complete the merger with SPAC Black Spade Acquisition Co (“Black Spade”) in the near future. Black Spade is currently applying for a 1-year extension from July 20, 2023 to July 20, 2024.

NYSE American, formerly the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), was a stock exchange located in New York City) prior to its acquisition in 2008. Compared to the NYSE and Nasdaq, NYSE American trades with much smaller volume.

According to Investopedia, in 2008, AMEX was acquired by NYSE Euronext, the name was changed to NYSE American and became one of the exchanges owned by the NYSE.

NYSE American is one of the largest stock exchanges by trading volume in the United States. It was once the main competitor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), before being superseded by Nasdaq.

NYSE American trades primarily small and mid-cap stocks and derivatives. According to the statement on the website, NYSE American is an exchange designed for growing companies.

To ensure market liquidity, NYSE American offers electronically designated market makers.

Market makers are individuals or companies that are willing to buy and sell a particular security as needed during a trading session. These designated market makers are obligated to quote prices for specific companies listed in the US NYSE.

In exchange for creating markets for securities, market makers make money through bid-ask spreads and from fees and commissions. Although the NYSE American is a smaller volume exchange that lists smaller companies, its use of market makers allows it to maintain liquidity and an orderly market.

Black Spade Acquisition Co. (Black Space) – the SPAC company that is about to merge with VinFast has just submitted a dossier to the US securities regulator, saying that this company will transfer class A common shares and warrants from the New York Stock Exchange (the New York Stock Exchange). New York Stock Exchange – NYSE) to NYSE American, effective from June 21, 2023.

The Company expects to begin trading under the current tickers “BSAQU”, “BSAQ” and “BSAQWS” for its units, Class A common stock and warrants respectively upon opening of trading on the NYSE. American. The company will continue to trade on the NYSE until the close of trading on June 20, 2023, after which Black Spade Acquisition Co. will be delisted from the NYSE.

Previously, in May, VinFast and Black Spade announced a business merger agreement. After the transaction, VinFast has a valuation of more than 23 billion USD and continues to plan to list on the US stock exchange. Recently, VinFast said it will complete the merger with SPAC Black Spade Acquisition Co (“Black Spade”) in the near future. Black Spade is currently applying for a 1-year extension from July 20, 2023 to July 20, 2024.

NYSE American, formerly the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), was a stock exchange located in New York City) prior to its acquisition in 2008. Compared to the NYSE and Nasdaq, NYSE American trades with much smaller volume.

According to Investopedia, in 2008, AMEX was acquired by NYSE Euronext, the name was changed to NYSE American and became one of the exchanges owned by the NYSE.

NYSE American is one of the largest stock exchanges by trading volume in the United States. It was once the main competitor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), before being superseded by Nasdaq.

NYSE American trades primarily small and mid-cap stocks and derivatives. According to the statement on the website, NYSE American is an exchange designed for growing companies.

To ensure market liquidity, NYSE American offers electronically designated market makers.

Market makers are individuals or companies that are willing to buy and sell a particular security as needed during a trading session. These designated market makers are obligated to quote prices for specific companies listed in the US NYSE.

In exchange for creating markets for securities, market makers make money through bid-ask spreads and from fees and commissions. Although the NYSE American is a smaller volume exchange that lists smaller companies, its use of market makers allows it to maintain liquidity and an orderly market.