After the Bell: Twitter job cuts; holiday spending outlook; Netflix adds ads
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Elon Musk plans to cut Twitter’s workforce by 50% as soon as Friday, according to Bloomberg.
That’s about 3,700 people who could lose their jobs.
Also, the company’s work-from-anywhere policy would go away, with most employees required to work from the San Francisco offices.
Some fear dramatic layoffs will hurt Twitter’s ability to moderate hate speech.
Musk already faced pushback earlier this week with his plan for an $8-a-month “blue check” verification for subscribers.
- Twitter’s blue check: Vital verification or status symbol?
- Lyft to lay off 13% of staff
- 2 automotive businesses in Indiana announce layoffs, plant closing
Holiday spending to decrease?
Do people seem ready to spend on gifts for the holidays? Depends who you talk to.
Some forecasts call for a decrease in spending while the National Retail Federation says sales will grow from 6%-8% in 2022 compared to the past year. The federation predicts people plan to buy for fewer people — think immediate family members — as well, and they’ll be using credit cards and dip into savings to make it happen.
Stocks end lower
Stocks racked up more losses on Wall Street and Treasury yields again rose to multiyear highs Thursday as investors looked ahead to a closely watched job market report from the government that could influence the Federal Reserve’s next move in its fight to bring down inflation.
Technology stocks led the market pullback, which came a day after the central bank raised its benchmark rate for the sixth time this year and signaled that it may need to keep hiking rates for some time before its can successfully squash the highest inflation in decades.
Netflix launches ‘Basic with Ads’
Starting Thursday, Netflix launched a less-expensive ad-tier option.
For $6.99 a month, subscribers get 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour, and lower-quality video.
The other three tiers are $9.99 basic without ads, $15.49 standard without ads, and $19.99 premium without ads.
Shaky start for ‘salary transparency law’
New York’s “salary transparency law,” that went into effect Tuesday is off to a shaky start.
Many positions offer a salary between a very broad range of $50,000 to $150,000.
Several Citibank jobs were listed with a range of zero to $2 million. The company later said it was caused by a computer error.
Many people say companies are already finding ways around being transparent.