Tech

TikTok seeks to reassure U.S. employees ahead of Jan. 19 ban deadline

Published

2 months ago

January 15, 2025

U.S. flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

TikTok plans to keep paying U.S. employees even if the Supreme Court does not overturn a law that would force the sale of the short-video app in the U.S. or ban it, the company’s leadership said in an internal memo reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

The hugely popular platform is owned by China-based ByteDance and has 7,000 employees in the U.S.

“I cannot emphasize enough that your wellbeing is a top priority and so most importantly, I want to reinforce that as employees in the US, your employment, pay, and benefits are secure, and our offices will remain open, even if this situation hasn’t been resolved before the January 19 deadline,” the memo to TikTok employees said. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court seemed inclined to uphold the law, which was passed in April, despite calls from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and lawmakers to extend the Jan. 19 deadline.

Trump, whose inauguration takes place the day after the law goes into effect, has said he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.

“Our leadership team remains laser focused on planning for various scenarios and continuing to plan the way forward,” TikTok said in the memo.

“The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the US user experience,” the company said, adding that it will continue to navigate the situation to protect employees and the more than 170 million TikTok users in the United States.

If the court does not block the law by Sunday, new TikTok downloads on Apple (AAPL.O) or Google (GOOGL.O) app stores would be banned but existing users could continue to access the app for some time. The platform’s services would degrade and eventually stop working because other companies would be barred from providing support to TikTok.Although they clarified his victory had not triggered it.

Source: www.reuters.com

Tech

EU approves 920 million euro German aid for Infineon chips plant

Published

4 weeks ago

February 20, 2025

Net News Ghana

The European Commission said on Thursday it had approved a 920 million euro German state aid to Infineon for the construction of a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Dresden.

The measure will allow Infineon (IFXGn.DE), to complete the MEGAFAB-DD project which will be able to produce a wide range of different types of chips, the Commission added.

Chipmakers across the globe are pouring billions of dollars into new plants, as they take advantage of generous subsidies from the United States and the EU to keep the West ahead of China in developing cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

The European Commission has earmarked 15 billion euros for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030.

“This new manufacturing plant will bring flexible production capacity to the EU and thereby strengthen Europe’s security of supply, resilience and technological autonomy in semiconductor technologies, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act,” the Commission said in a statement.

The Commission said the plant – which will reach full capacity in 2031 – will be a front-end facility, covering wafer processing, testing and separation, adding that its chips will be used in industrial, automotive and consumer applications.

The aid will take the form of a direct grant of up to 920 million euros to Infineon to support its investment amounting to 3.5 billion euros. Infineon has said the plant will be the largest single investment in its history.

Infineon has agreed with the EU to ensure the project will bring wider positive effects to the EU semiconductor value chain and invest in the research and development of the next generation of chips in Europe, the Commission said.

It will also contribute to crisis preparedness by committing to implement priority-rated orders in the case of a supply shortage in line with the European Chips Act.

Source: www.reuters.com

Tech

Trump says he is speaking to China about TikTok

Published

4 weeks ago

February 20, 2025

Net News Ghana

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Wednesday that he was talking to China about TikTok as the United States seeks to broker a sale of the popular app.

Source://www.reuters.com

Tech

AT&T’s bundled 5G, fiber plans boost holiday-quarter subscriptions

Published

2 months ago

January 27, 2025

Net News Ghana

An AT&T logo is pictured in Pasadena, California, U.S., January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

AT&T’s (T.N) fourth-quarter wireless subscriber growth surpassed expectations on Monday, fueled by strong demand for its discounted premium plans combining 5G mobile with high-speed fiber data services.

Shares of the company rose about 2% in premarket trading.

The U.S. telecom giant added 482,000 net monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the holiday quarter, outpacing analysts’ estimated gains of 424,550, according to Visible Alpha.

As the pool of potential new wireless customers shrinks in the United States, AT&T’s strategy of bundling high-speed fiber internet with wireless phone services has helped drive growth for the company.

Its fiber business added 307,000 new customers in the fourth quarter, higher than 226,000 additions in the prior quarter, marking its best fourth-quarter fiber net additions.

The last three months of the year are typically strong for telecom operators, driven by factors such as Black Friday promotions, trade-in deals for new iPhone launches and the gift-giving season around Christmas, all of which contribute to higher subscriber additions.

Rival Verizon (VZ.N) reported its best quarterly wireless subscriber growth in five years on Friday, with 568,000 monthly bill-paying wireless subscribers added in the fourth quarter.

AT&T expects annual adjusted profit between $1.97 and $2.07 per share, excluding the contribution from its 70% stake in DirecTV, which the company is selling for $7.6 billion. It was not immediately clear if the range could be compared with the estimate of $2.18 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.Nasdaq futures slump after a cheaper Chinese AI model sparks panic in Silicon Valley.

AT&T said last month that it expected free cash flow to be more than $18 billion in 2027 and would reach more than 50 million locations with fiber by 2029.

Excluding items, it reported a profit of 54 cents per share, higher than analysts’ estimate of 50 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Total revenue rose about 1% to $32.3 billion, compared with an estimate of $32.04 billion.

AT&T began offering bill credits for network outages from Jan. 9, part of a new initiative to attract customers in a highly competitive market.

Source: www.reuters.com/