Tag Archives: Business

Apple Store employees in Oklahoma City ratify their first union contract

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Employees at an Apple Store in Oklahoma City's Penn Square Mall have voted to ratify their first collectively-bargained contract. The store's workers are part of the Communications Workers of America, operating as Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016. The employees' three-year agreement with Apple includes the following, according to a press release from CWA:

  • "Wage increases of up to 11.5% over the next three years."

  • "Worker involvement in scheduling and guaranteed paid time off to vote."

  • "A safer and more democratic workplace with a grievance and arbitration process and the establishment of joint Safety and Health and Working Relations committees."

  • "Job protection in the event of a store closure or relocation and severance pay."

  • "Guaranteed paid time off, health and other benefits."

It's worth pointing out that though the CWA press release says the wage increases are "of up to 11.5 percent over the next three years," Apple has said that this number is actually an average 10 percent increase over three years instead.

An Apple spokesperson said “At Apple, we work hard to provide an excellent experience for our team members and our customers. We have always paid our retail teams in the top tier of the market and we provide exceptional benefits for all full- and part-time employees. Throughout this process, we have bargained in good faith and this agreement allows Penn Square team members to enjoy similar performance-based wage increases this year as last year, along with the same medical and time away benefits our U.S. retail employees currently receive.”

Apple also shared more details around compensation and wages like how the tentative agreement provides an average 10 percent increase over 3 years. Penn Square Mall employees will also be able to participate in the scheduling options that were provided to all other US stores in 2022, and held to the same availability guidelines as the rest of the fleet with no exceptions. PSQ members will receive the same medical and time off benefits as all US team members, and subject to the same documented coaching, discipline and misconduct practices that apply across all of Apple's US stores.

Apple's spokesperson also said the agreement includes the creation of a safety committee at the PSQ location, like the one at all its other stores. A working relations committee, made up of two representatives from the union and two from the company, will meet twice a year.

Today's news caps off years of preparation to unionize and secure a contract for the Penn Square Mall Apple Store, which began organizing in early 2022. The parties reached a tentative agreement in early September after a unanimous strike authorization vote in August and a store picket.

The Oklahoma City employees are the second group of Apple retail workers to reach a contract through their union. An Apple Store in Maryland was the first of the tech company's retail stores to unionize, joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in June 2022.

Update, September 25 2024, 4:55PM ET: This story has been updated to include Apple's statement as well as details the company's spokesperson shared. We also clarified that there's a discrepancy between what the CWA press release says is the percentage for wage increase over the next three years and what Apple says it is.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-store-employees-in-oklahoma-city-ratify-their-first-union-contract-190218680.html?src=rss

Google files EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft

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Google filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission on Wednesday. In it, Google accused Microsoft of making it prohibitively expensive for cloud customers to move their work from Azure to other providers, like Google Cloud.

Google claims Microsoft’s cloud licensing terms restrict European customers from switching to competing cloud platforms despite “no technical barriers to doing so.” In a blog post explaining its complaint, Google wrote that Microsoft’s practices have “significantly harmed European companies and governments,” costing European businesses €1 billion ($1.1 billion) annually, wasting taxpayer money and stifling competition.

Amazon’s AWS leads Europe’s cloud market. Microsoft’s Azure is second, followed by Google in third. Oracle, Salesforce and IBM rounded out the top six in Q2 2024.

On Wednesday, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that the EU governing body received Google’s complaint. “We will assess it according to our standard procedures,” EC spokesperson Lea Zuber wrote.

Google’s complaint referred to a settlement this summer between Microsoft and CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe), the trade body for Europe’s cloud industry. The latter filed a complaint against Microsoft in late 2022, accusing the company of anti-competitive practices with Azure (strikingly similar to Google’s complaints from today). The full details of the settlement, which led to CISPE withdrawing its complaint, weren’t made public. CISPE wrote in July that Microsoft would make changes to address its concerns. Those included releasing an enhanced version of the Azure Stack HCI, which would bring features that Microsoft's customers enjoy to European cloud providers.

In a statement to Engadget, Microsoft was optimistic that the EC would dismiss Google’s complaint. “Microsoft settled amicably similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even after Google hoped they would keep litigating,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote, referring to a Bloomberg report that Google offered a $500 million alternative deal to keep the antitrust complaint alive. “Having failed to persuade European companies, we expect Google similarly will fail to persuade the European Commission,” Microsoft’s spokesperson wrote.

Google says Windows Server is at the heart of its complaint. Describing it as “a must-have workhorse in many IT environments,” the company says Microsoft changed its practices after cloud computing became a more lucrative business. “But as Azure faced more competition, Microsoft introduced new rules that severely limited customer choice,” Google wrote.

Google said the licensing terms Microsoft adopted in 2019 “imposed extreme financial penalties” on companies who wanted to use Windows Server software with Azure competitors like AWS and Google Cloud. “Microsoft’s own statements indicate that customers who want to move their workloads to these competitors would need to pay up to five times more,” Google wrote, citing an archived 2023 webpage comparing Azure pricing to that of AWS. Google said Microsoft also limited security patches and created other barriers to choice in cloud providers.

Google also linked to research from Professor Frédéric Jenny, a French economist and chair of the OECD Competition Committee. The study claims that European companies and government organizations pay “unfair, additional costs” to customers who license software to run on cloud infrastructure from independent service providers. Professor Jenny claimed those choosing non-Microsoft cloud providers “sucked an additional €1,010,394,489 out of the European economy in 2022.”

Google Cloud’s Head of Platform Amit Zavery wrote on Wednesday that Microsoft’s practices lock customers into Azure, hurt cybersecurity and limit innovation. Zavery also spoke with CNBC, advocating for a more open market for cloud providers. “Today the restrictions [do] not allow choice for customers,” he said. Zavery wants Microsoft’s restrictions “to be removed and allow customers to have and choose whatever cloud provider they think is best for them commercially and technically.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-files-eu-antitrust-complaint-against-microsoft-183050473.html?src=rss

Google files EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft

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Google filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission on Wednesday. In it, Google accused Microsoft of making it prohibitively expensive for cloud customers to move their work from Azure to other providers, like Google Cloud.

Google claims Microsoft’s cloud licensing terms restrict European customers from switching to competing cloud platforms despite “no technical barriers to doing so.” In a blog post explaining its complaint, Google wrote that Microsoft’s practices have “significantly harmed European companies and governments,” costing European businesses €1 billion ($1.1 billion) annually, wasting taxpayer money and stifling competition.

Amazon’s AWS leads Europe’s cloud market. Microsoft’s Azure is second, followed by Google in third. Oracle, Salesforce and IBM rounded out the top six in Q2 2024.

On Wednesday, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed to Engadget that the EU governing body received Google’s complaint. “We will assess it according to our standard procedures,” EC spokesperson Lea Zuber wrote.

Google’s complaint referred to a settlement this summer between Microsoft and CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe), the trade body for Europe’s cloud industry. The latter filed a complaint against Microsoft in late 2022, accusing the company of anti-competitive practices with Azure (strikingly similar to Google’s complaints from today). The full details of the settlement, which led to CISPE withdrawing its complaint, weren’t made public. CISPE wrote in July that Microsoft would make changes to address its concerns. Those included releasing an enhanced version of the Azure Stack HCI, which would bring features that Microsoft's customers enjoy to European cloud providers.

In a statement to Engadget, Microsoft was optimistic that the EC would dismiss Google’s complaint. “Microsoft settled amicably similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even after Google hoped they would keep litigating,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote, referring to a Bloomberg report that Google offered a $500 million alternative deal to keep the antitrust complaint alive. “Having failed to persuade European companies, we expect Google similarly will fail to persuade the European Commission,” Microsoft’s spokesperson wrote.

Google says Windows Server is at the heart of its complaint. Describing it as “a must-have workhorse in many IT environments,” the company says Microsoft changed its practices after cloud computing became a more lucrative business. “But as Azure faced more competition, Microsoft introduced new rules that severely limited customer choice,” Google wrote.

Google said the licensing terms Microsoft adopted in 2019 “imposed extreme financial penalties” on companies who wanted to use Windows Server software with Azure competitors like AWS and Google Cloud. “Microsoft’s own statements indicate that customers who want to move their workloads to these competitors would need to pay up to five times more,” Google wrote, citing an archived 2023 webpage comparing Azure pricing to that of AWS. Google said Microsoft also limited security patches and created other barriers to choice in cloud providers.

Google also linked to research from Professor Frédéric Jenny, a French economist and chair of the OECD Competition Committee. The study claims that European companies and government organizations pay “unfair, additional costs” to customers who license software to run on cloud infrastructure from independent service providers. Professor Jenny claimed those choosing non-Microsoft cloud providers “sucked an additional €1,010,394,489 out of the European economy in 2022.”

Google Cloud’s Head of Platform Amit Zavery wrote on Wednesday that Microsoft’s practices lock customers into Azure, hurt cybersecurity and limit innovation. Zavery also spoke with CNBC, advocating for a more open market for cloud providers. “Today the restrictions [do] not allow choice for customers,” he said. Zavery wants Microsoft’s restrictions “to be removed and allow customers to have and choose whatever cloud provider they think is best for them commercially and technically.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-files-eu-antitrust-complaint-against-microsoft-183050473.html?src=rss

Visa slapped with a DOJ antitrust lawsuit

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa. The lawsuit alleges that the financial firm holds a monopoly over debit network markets allowing it to charge banks and markets with exorbitant fees that get passed onto consumers and keep rival companies like PayPal and Square from competing on their level.

Bloomberg first reported on Monday that the DOJ planned to file an antitrust suit against Visa following a multiyear investigation into Visa’s business practices starting in 2020. Visa attempted to acquire the fintech startup Plaid with a $5.3 billion bid but the DOJ filed a lawsuit blocking the deal claiming the acquisition would eliminate a competitive threat that challenged Visa’s powerful control of debit markets.

Visa dropped the bid a year later to avoid any further legal entanglements but the DOJ continued investigating Visa’s business practices.

The DOJ alleges in its latest lawsuit that Visa’s “web of exclusionary agreements” with banks and businesses helped strengthen its market dominance and “smother” any potential competitors. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Visa “unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market.

“Merchants and banks pass along those costs to customers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service,” the statement reads. “As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything.”

Visa's General Counsel Julie Rottenberg told Engadget in an emailed statement that the DOJ's lawsuit is "meritless" and that they plan to vigorously defend themselves in court. 

"Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving," Rottenberg said by email. "When businesses and consumers choose Visa, it is because of our secure and reliable network, world-class fraud protection, and the value we provide. We are proud of the payments network we have built, the innovation we advance, and the economic opportunity we enable."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/visa-slapped-with-a-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-204710873.html?src=rss

Visa slapped with a DOJ antitrust lawsuit

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa. The lawsuit alleges that the financial firm holds a monopoly over debit network markets allowing it to charge banks and markets with exorbitant fees that get passed onto consumers and keep rival companies like PayPal and Square from competing on their level.

Bloomberg first reported on Monday that the DOJ planned to file an antitrust suit against Visa following a multiyear investigation into Visa’s business practices starting in 2020. Visa attempted to acquire the fintech startup Plaid with a $5.3 billion bid but the DOJ filed a lawsuit blocking the deal claiming the acquisition would eliminate a competitive threat that challenged Visa’s powerful control of debit markets.

Visa dropped the bid a year later to avoid any further legal entanglements but the DOJ continued investigating Visa’s business practices.

The DOJ alleges in its latest lawsuit that Visa’s “web of exclusionary agreements” with banks and businesses helped strengthen its market dominance and “smother” any potential competitors. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Visa “unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market.

“Merchants and banks pass along those costs to customers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service,” the statement reads. “As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing — but the price of nearly everything.”

Visa's General Counsel Julie Rottenberg told Engadget in an emailed statement that the DOJ's lawsuit is "meritless" and that they plan to vigorously defend themselves in court. 

"Today's lawsuit ignores the reality that Visa is just one of many competitors in a debit space that is growing, with entrants who are thriving," Rottenberg said by email. "When businesses and consumers choose Visa, it is because of our secure and reliable network, world-class fraud protection, and the value we provide. We are proud of the payments network we have built, the innovation we advance, and the economic opportunity we enable."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/visa-slapped-with-a-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-204710873.html?src=rss

Apple Store employees in Oklahoma City ratify their first union contract

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Employees at an Apple Store in Oklahoma City's Penn Square Mall have voted to ratify their first collectively-bargained contract. The store's workers are part of the Communications Workers of America, operating as Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016. The employees' three-year agreement with Apple includes the following, according to a press release from CWA:

  • "Wage increases of up to 11.5% over the next three years."

  • "Worker involvement in scheduling and guaranteed paid time off to vote."

  • "A safer and more democratic workplace with a grievance and arbitration process and the establishment of joint Safety and Health and Working Relations committees."

  • "Job protection in the event of a store closure or relocation and severance pay."

  • "Guaranteed paid time off, health and other benefits."

It's worth pointing out that though the CWA press release says the wage increases are "of up to 11.5 percent over the next three years," Apple has said that this number is actually an average 10 percent increase over three years instead.

An Apple spokesperson said “At Apple, we work hard to provide an excellent experience for our team members and our customers. We have always paid our retail teams in the top tier of the market and we provide exceptional benefits for all full- and part-time employees. Throughout this process, we have bargained in good faith and this agreement allows Penn Square team members to enjoy similar performance-based wage increases this year as last year, along with the same medical and time away benefits our U.S. retail employees currently receive.”

Apple also shared more details around compensation and wages like how the tentative agreement provides an average 10 percent increase over 3 years. Penn Square Mall employees will also be able to participate in the scheduling options that were provided to all other US stores in 2022, and held to the same availability guidelines as the rest of the fleet with no exceptions. PSQ members will receive the same medical and time off benefits as all US team members, and subject to the same documented coaching, discipline and misconduct practices that apply across all of Apple's US stores.

Apple's spokesperson also said the agreement includes the creation of a safety committee at the PSQ location, like the one at all its other stores. A working relations committee, made up of two representatives from the union and two from the company, will meet twice a year.

Today's news caps off years of preparation to unionize and secure a contract for the Penn Square Mall Apple Store, which began organizing in early 2022. The parties reached a tentative agreement in early September after a unanimous strike authorization vote in August and a store picket.

The Oklahoma City employees are the second group of Apple retail workers to reach a contract through their union. An Apple Store in Maryland was the first of the tech company's retail stores to unionize, joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in June 2022.

Update, September 25 2024, 4:55PM ET: This story has been updated to include Apple's statement as well as details the company's spokesperson shared. We also clarified that there's a discrepancy between what the CWA press release says is the percentage for wage increase over the next three years and what Apple says it is.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-store-employees-in-oklahoma-city-ratify-their-first-union-contract-190218680.html?src=rss

HP’s Print AI will offer a better way to print websites

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HP just announced HP Print AI, which is being advertised as “the industry’s first intelligent print” experience. Beyond squeezing in tech’s two favorite letters (AI), the software looks to “simplify and enhance printing from setup to support.” There are several tools here, but the most interesting aspect is something called Perfect Output.

This could actually solve the problem of printing from web pages, which typically produces something just a hair above absolute garbage. The company says the embedded algorithms will reduce all of that unnecessary white space and will get rid of ads.

Image size will also be optimized, so printing from a website should look about as good as something that came from a word processor. HP says everything will “fit perfectly on the page for the first time.” Perfect Output isn’t just for websites, as the company says it’ll also make short work of spreadsheets, which are another frustrating thing to print out.

This feature begins rolling out today, but only to select customers as a beta. HP told Engadget that Perfect Output will work with any of the company’s printers, so long as the correct driver is installed and it’s connected to a Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine. Once some customer feedback comes in, it should go into a wider release.

HP Print AI will also use artificial intelligence to customize support for each user, with the company saying that its “intelligent technology anticipates” the needs of consumers. HP says this will be especially useful when it comes to setup and for remembering user preferences. There’s also a chatbot in there that allows for language-based queries, which runs off of a proprietary LLM the company calls a "print language model." So it's technically a, sigh, PLM. 

For now, these tools are tied to driver software. HP says that they’ll be featured prominently in a forthcoming app update scheduled for next year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/hps-print-ai-will-offer-a-better-way-to-print-websites-170523565.html?src=rss

Qualcomm is reportedly eyeing a takeover of Intel

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It seems that Qualcomm sees Intel’s struggling business as a potential opportunity. The San Diego-based chipmaker has reportedly expressed an interest in taking over Intel “in recent days,” according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.

Though the report cautions that such a deal is “far from certain,” it would be a major upheaval in the US chip industry. It would also, as The WSJ notes, likely raise antitrust questions. But Qualcomm’s reported interest in a takeover underscores just how much Intel’s business has struggled over the last year.

Intel announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs last month as its quarterly losses climbed to $1.6 billion. Its foundry business is also struggling, with an operating loss of $2.8 billion last quarter. CEO Pat Gelsinger announced plans earlier this week to separate its foundry business into a separate unit from the rest of Intel.

Intel declined to comment on the report. Qualcomm didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/qualcomm-is-reportedly-eyeing-a-takeover-of-intel-210920969.html?src=rss

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are suing Palworld creator Pocketpair

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Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair in Tokyo. Pocketpair is the Japanese video game developer behind Palworld, a game people have been describing as a Pokémon parody, featuring cute gun-toting monsters. The game, released in Early Access form on January 18, was an instant hit, selling 15 million copies on Steam and crossing 25 million players within just a month. 

The Pokémon Company said a few days after Palworld came out that it was going to investigate a game "released in January 2024" and will "take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon." Looks like the investigation is over, and it has decided to take legal action. 

"This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights," Nintendo said in its announcement of the lawsuit. 

Pocketpair previously said that its game is more like Ark Survival Evolved and Valheim than Pokémon. Company CEO Takuro Mizobe claimed that Palworld "cleared legal reviews" and that no lawsuits were filed against Pocketpair regarding its development. While Palworld's monsters would look familiar to Pokémon fans, it takes on a darker tone. You can choose to play as a friend to the monsters known as "Pals" and fight off the poachers trying to kill them. But you can also kill and eat Pals, make them fight to the death and even sell them into slavery.

Shortly after Nintendo announced its lawsuit, Pocketpair responded. "At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details," the company wrote. "It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas."

Update, September 19 2024, 9:40AM ET: This story has been updated with Pocketpair's response to Nintendo's lawsuit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-are-suing-palworld-creator-pocketpair-031320550.html?src=rss

Report: Google offered to sell AdX to end EU antitrust suit

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In an effort to quell monopoly concerns in the EU, Google reportedly offered to sell its AdX advertising marketplace. Sources told Reuters that European publishers rejected Google's offer, arguing that the company would have to divest more in order to dismantle the conflicts of interest in its online advertising operations. Lawyers familiar with the antitrust cases said this was the first time Google had offered to sell off an asset in response to this type of lawsuit.

Despite this alleged sale offer, Google is publicly standing firm about its adtech business. "As we have said before, the European Commission's case about our third-party display advertising products rests on flawed interpretations of the ad-tech sector, which is fiercely competitive and rapidly evolving. We remain committed to this business," a Google rep told the publication. We've reached out to Google and will update this story if we receive any additional comment from the company.

Google's control over online advertisements has raised concerns around the globe. Regulators have questioned whether the company's activity in multiple stages of the adtech supply chain allows it to favor its own businesses, creating an unfair advantage that could hurt competition and increase advertising prices.

The European Commission began this push against the company's ad arm last June. The UK's competition watchdog also raised the alarm over a possible Google ad monopoly earlier this month. Google is also currently being sued by the Department of Justice over the same topic in the US.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/report-google-offered-to-sell-adx-to-end-eu-antitrust-suit-203612819.html?src=rss