Snap Plans to Layoff 10% of Workforce to "Best Position Our Business"

Snap (NYSE: SNAP) announced plans to layoff 10% of its global workforce, the company said Monday, representing about 500 employees based on recent headcount figures from the social media company. “In order to best position our business to execute on our highest priorities, and to ensure we have the capacity to invest incrementally to support our growth over time, we have made the difficult decision to restructure our team,” the company in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “As a result, we currently estimate that we will incur pre-tax charges in the range of $55 million to $75 million, primarily consisting of severance and related costs, and other charges, of which $45 million to $55 million are expected to be future cash expenditures.” Snap said the majority of those costs will be incurred in the first quarter of 2024. The company is set to deliver its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

Apple Launches Vision Pro VR Headset in U.S., Offering Over 600 Apps and Games

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) officially launched its Vision Pro virtual reality headset in the United States on Friday, with customers now having access to more than 600 apps and games designed to be experienced in VR. The tech giant said Vision Pro has an "infinite canvas" for apps to be used within a three-dimensional interface that users can navigate using their eyes, hands, and voice. “With more than 600 new spatial experiences to explore in the all-new App Store, alongside more than 1 million compatible apps across iOS and iPadOS, users can discover a wide array of apps that expand the boundaries of what’s possible," said Susan Prescott, VP of Worldwide Developer Relations at Apple, in a statement. "These incredible apps will change how we experience entertainment, music, and games; spark our imaginations with new ways to learn and explore; unlock productivity like never before; and so much more. Developers are already capturing the promise of spatial computing, and we can’t wait to see what they create next.”

Amazon Launches Rufus, its New AI-Powered Shopping Assistant on Mobile App

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) on Thursday announced the launch of its new AI shopping assistant named Rufus to the e-commerce giant's mobile shopping app, offering consumers a new tool to help find products, compare reviews and prices and receive recommendations on what to buy all in one place. The generative AI was trained using Amazon's product catalog, customer reviews, community questions and answers, and other information sourced from around the web relevant to shoppers' needs. “It’s still early days for generative AI, and the technology won’t always get it exactly right,” Amazon said in a blog post. “We will keep improving our AI models and fine-tune responses to continuously make Rufus more helpful over time. Customers are encouraged to leave feedback by rating their answers with a thumbs up or thumbs down, and they have the option to provide freeform feedback as well."

Walmart Announced 3-for-1 Stock Split, 150 Store Expansion in United States

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced a three-for-one stock split and plans to add more than 150 large-format locations across the United States in recent news as the retail giant's shares rise near their all-time high. The company said on Tuesday the additional shares will be payable after market close on Friday, Feb. 23 to shareholders of record as of Thursday, Feb. 22, with CEO Doug McMillon saying in a statement that Walmart "felt it was a good time to split the stock and encourage our associates to participate in the years to come." On Wednesday, the company unveiled plans to build or convert more than 150 brick-and-mortar storefronts over the next five years in the U.S. Walmart is currently the country's largest private employer, with about 1.6 million employees working at its more than 4,600 stores. Moreover, about 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart. The stock closed at $165.59 on Tuesday, slightly below of its all-time high of $169.94 reached in November.

UPS Says Domestic and International Shipping Volumes Fell in Q4, Cuts 12,000 Jobs

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) shares fell on Tuesday after the company reported declines in both international and domestic shipping volumes in its fourth-quarter earnings reports. The company also announced 12,000 layoffs, which will save the company about $1 billion in costs. "2023 was a unique, and quite candidly, difficult and disappointing year. We experienced declines in volume, revenue and operating profits and all three of our business segments," CEO Carol Tomé said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday. The package delivery giant reported a 7.4% decline in average daily volume in the United States and a 8.3% in international shipping last quarter, with global shipping impacted in-part by freight supply chain issues in the Red Sea region, as well as the Panama and Suez canals, Tomé said. For its full year 2024, UPS expects revenue in a range of $92 billion to $94.5 billion, alongside an adjusted operating margin of between 10% and 10.6%.

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