Starbucks Mideast stores to lay off 2,000 amid Gaza war boycotts

A franchise operator that runs Starbucks outlets in the Middle East and North Africa region said Tuesday that it will lay off 2,000 workers amid calls for boycotts of the American coffee giant linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. “As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we … Read more

German bishops to head to Rome after Vatican demands they scrap a vote on contentious lay council

ROME — A delegation of German bishops is expected in Rome soon after the Vatican insisted they scrap a planned vote this week on a controversial proposal to let laypeople participate in a decision-making council alongside bishops. The aborted vote was the latest in years of efforts by the Holy See to rein in the … Read more

Hundreds risk arrest, and Kremlin’s wrath, to lay flowers for Alexei Navalny

MOSCOW — Ahead of the third day of mourning for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died suddenly in an Arctic prison, activists sent out safety tips for Russians wishing to lay flowers at memorials that have sprung up across the country, from St. Petersburg in the northwest to Magadan in the Far East; in … Read more

Dutch startup Monumental is using robots to lay bricks

Few categories are as ripe for automation-fueled disruption as construction. The industry is valued at around $2 trillion a year, in the U.S. alone. Much of that work is strenuous, repetitive and sometimes dangerous — precisely the sorts of problems industrial robotics are built to solve. The other thing construction brings is a wide range … Read more

“Screw up” by Judge Cannon could lay groundwork for Jack Smith appeal

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s next move in Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case could determine whether the government will have to seek an appeal, former federal prosecutors argued following the Trump-appointee’s meeting with special counsel Jack Smith Wednesday to discuss which classified materials will be excluded from the trial. Ex-U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance explained … Read more

Amazon terminates iRobot deal, Roomba maker to lay off 31% of staff

Amazon said on Monday it would not move forward with a planned acquisition of vacuum-maker iRobot, with the two companies saying in a release there was “no path to regulatory approval for the deal.” The Roomba maker also announced it would lay off 31% of its employees, around 350 people, and that its chair and … Read more

Flexport may lay off workers yet again

Flexport, a logistics company with $2.7 billion in venture and debt funding, is reportedly planning additional layoffs. That’s according to Information, which said the firm intends to eliminate around 20% of its roles in the next few weeks. Flexport communications head Liyan Chen declined to comment on the report in an email to TechCrunch. Flexport, … Read more

Embezzlement of Oregon weekly newspaper’s funds forces it to lay off entire staff and halt print

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon weekly newspaper has had to lay off its entire staff and halt print after 40 years because its funds were embezzled by a former employee, its editor said, in a devastating blow to a publication that serves as an important source of information in a community that, like many … Read more