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Shopify's quiet layoffs continue among customer support workers

Shopify
Shopify continues to conduct quiet layoffs, the latest targeting its customer support workers.

Denis Poroy/AP

  • Shopify has laid off employees in its customer support organization, BI has learned.
  • This division of the company has undergone multiple rounds of smaller, quiet layoffs since 2022.
  • The e-commerce platform company continues to hire third-party customer support staff.

Shopify quietly laid off employees in its Support division this week, according to five people familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear how many employees lost their jobs, but one person estimated that it was at least a dozen.

Shopify's Support teams troubleshoot issues for the millions of merchants who use the platform to sell products.

Employees who were impacted by the job cuts lost access to company systems during or immediately after a brief meeting with HR, making it difficult for them to ascertain how many of their coworkers had also lost their jobs.

Shopify representatives did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment on the layoffs.

Shopify's Support division has undergone many changes in recent years.

In early 2023, the company began "Code Yellow," a project aimed at improving customer service levels that leaders said had "deteriorated beyond acceptable ranges." As part of that project, it embraced using generative AI to handle some tasks that Support employees had done previously, saying the technology had helped to "minimize toil, help us be more efficient and improve merchant experience." In 2024, company leaders told employees a reorg of the division would be necessary to fix its ratio of managers to "crafters," which is Shopify's term for individual contributors.

Shopify has also continued to hire third-party vendors β€” some in other countries including the Philippines and some in Canada β€” to assist with customer-service tickets, which employees said has contributed to a decline in overall quality in response.

The Support division has also seen a lot of turnover in its management ranks, with former leaders Glen Worthington, Clovis Cuqui, and Jen Bebb all departing Shopify in 2024.

Shopify conducted two rounds of mass layoffs in the years after a pandemic-led boom. In July 2022, it laid off 10% of its workforce, or roughly 1,000 employees, and in May 2023, it cut an additional 20% of staff while also selling off its logistics business.

Three people told BI that the company has quietly laid off workers several times since then, following a similar format as this week's layoffs.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter at mstone@businessinsider.com, mlstone@protonmail.com, or on the secure messaging app Signal at @mlstone.04 using a non-work phone.

Contact the reporter Jyoti Mann via email at jmann@businessinsider.com or via Signal at jyotimann.11. Reach out via a nonwork device.

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The House's DOGE committee is likely to be a brawl

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Melanie Stansbury
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is the chairwoman of the new DOGE subcommittee, while Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico is the ranking member.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Congressional Integrity Project

  • The House is going to have it's own DOGE subcommittee chaired by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
  • The Democrats on this committee aren't DOGE-curious. They're gearing up for a fight.
  • The top Democrat says Republicans want to turn the government into a "piggy bank" for Elon Musk.

As the Department of Government Efficiency has taken shape, you may have heard about a handful of Democratic politicians who are interested in working with Elon Musk.

You won't find any of these "DOGE-curious" Democrats, however, on the House's new "Delivering on Government Efficiency" subcommittee.

"We believe that they're going to use the DOGE subcommittee to eviscerate the federal workforce," Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the panel, said on CNN on Friday.

The subcommittee, housed beneath the House Oversight Committee, will be chaired by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene β€” the controversial Georgia congresswoman who was barred from serving on committees altogether during her first two years in office.

Other Republicans on the panel include some of the party's biggest spending hawks and members of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, including:

  • Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas
  • Rep. William Timmons of South Carolina
  • Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas
  • Rep. Brian Jack of Georgia
  • Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee
  • Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri
  • Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas

The Democrats, meanwhile, include several lawmakers who've cut their teeth doing battle with Republicans on the Oversight committee over the last two years, including:

  • Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, DC
  • Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts
  • Rep. Robert Garcia of California
  • Rep. Greg Casar of Texas
  • Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas

These Democrats have generally been critical of DOGE. Stansbury said on CNN that Republicans want to make the federal government "essentially a personal piggy bank for Elon Musk," pointing to the billionaire businessman's reliance on federal contracts. Casar, meanwhile, previously told BI that he expects Musk and DOGE to pursue "really awful, stupid, self-serving stuff."

"We're ready to fight back on day one, call out attempts to slash our social safety, and make sure we take care of working families and the middle class," Garcia said in a statement announcing his placement on the subcommittee.

While the subcommittee is focusing on the same government-efficiency goals as Musk's DOGE in the executive branch, it remains unclear how the two entities will interact.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are pursuing DOGE-aligned initiatives through other avenues, including via DOGE caucuses in both the House and the Senate.

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European naval forces destroyed nearly two dozen missiles and drones in their Red Sea battle

An S-70B helicopter flies away from the Greek frigate HS Psara.
An S-70B helicopter flies away from the Greek frigate HS Psara.

Operation Aspides

  • European forces destroyed nearly two dozen Houthi missiles and drones over the past year.
  • The Houthis spent more than a year attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
  • American and European forces have deployed to the region to defend against the attacks.

European naval forces destroyed nearly two dozen missiles and drones launched by the Houthis in almost a year of combat operations in the Red Sea.

The European Union launched Operation Aspides in mid-February of last year in response to Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, joining American and British forces in their efforts to protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from the Yemeni rebels.

So far, the European forces deployed to the mission have intercepted four missiles, shot down 17 aerial drones, and destroyed two naval drones on the surface of the water, a spokesperson for Operation Aspides told Business Insider on Friday.

Their mission is set to expire in a month, and as the Houthis signal, they will reduce their attacks, which succeeded in driving up the cost of shipping and compelled some carriers to avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea entirely.

European forces β€” including Germany, France, Italy, and Greece β€” have taken down the Houthi weapons by opening fire from warships and their embarked helicopters. The surface combatants have used surface-to-air missiles and 3-inch deck-mounted guns to intercept the threats.

A missile is launched from a French warship in the Red Sea.
A French warship operating in the Red Sea launches a surface-to-air missile.

Operation Aspides

The Operation Aspides spokesperson said European forces have also supported nearly 600 vessels, including providing close protection for more than 350 of them, and carried out three Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) operations to save the lives of nearly 50 sailors.

It's unclear whether the operation's one-year mandate, which began on February 19, 2024, and is set to expire in just a few weeks, will be extended. The mission's budget is 8 million Euros ($8.3 million USD).

The tempo of operations under Aspides is a stark difference from the US Navy's counter-Houthi mission, which has engaged hundreds of Houthi missiles and drones since the fall of 2023. Officers and experts have described the conflict as the most intense combat that American naval forces have faced since World War II.

US warships have also shot down Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles. The rebels became the first force to ever fire this type of missile in combat, in late 2023, and have since fired dozens of them at military and civilian vessels.

A hostile drone boat comes under fire from a French warship in the Red Sea.
A French warship operating in the Red Sea opens fire on a Houthi naval drone in August..

French military photo

Beyond intercepting Houthi missiles and drones, the US has carried out airstrikes against the rebels in Yemen, targeting their facilities and weapons. British and Israeli fighter jets have done the same.

The Houthis have said that their unrelenting attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Shortly after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was announced earlier this month, the rebels claimed they would limit their Red Sea attacks to Israeli-affiliated vessels.

The return of the Trump administration could dramatically shake-up the US military's approach to the ongoing Houthi conflict. The White House announced earlier this week that it was re-designating the rebels as a foreign terrorist organization, reversing former President Joe Biden's decision to remove them from that list in 2021.

The White House said that under Trump, "it is now the policy" of the US to cooperate with regional partners to end the Houthi attacks on American personnel and civilians, Washington's partners, and Red Sea shipping.

Read the original article on Business Insider

'The Night Agent' season 2 finale was action-packed. The cast and showrunner break down its biggest moments.

Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode two of "The Night Agent."
Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode two of "The Night Agent."

Christopher Saunders/Netflix

  • Season two of "The Night Agent" is now streaming on Netflix.
  • The 10-episode season ends with a tease about what Peter Sutherland will be up to in season three.
  • Peter and Rose Larkin also make a difficult decision about their relationship.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for season two of Netflix's "The Night Agent."

Newly appointed night agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) faces even more danger while unraveling another terrorist plot in season two of "The Night Agent."

Netflix's popular political thriller series returned for season two on Thursday. The 10-episode season follows Peter and Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), the former CEO of a tech startup and his love interest, as they uncover a sinister plan involving an intelligence broker and a war criminal.

Season two ends with Peter and Rose breaking up and going their separate ways β€” at least for the time being β€” and Peter accepting a top-secret mission that will put his life in peril (again).

Here's a breakdown of the season two finale, and how it sets up the already-confirmed season three of "The Night Agent."

Peter makes a dicey deal to stop the release of a deadly chemical weapon

Peter Sutherland holds a cellphone in his left hand in season two, episode three of "The Night Agent."
Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode three of "The Night Agent."

Christopher Saunders/Netflix

Season two of "The Night Agent" centers on convicted war criminal Viktor Bala's (Dikran Tulaine) attempt to carry out a revenge plot against Americans by killing thousands using a chemical gas compound called KX. Because he's incarcerated, Bala has his son TomΓ‘s (Rob Heaps) and his nephew Markus (Michael Malarkey) execute his plan.

The origin of Bala's plan dates back 20 years, when the American government began Foxglove, an operation intended to get ahead of chemical warfare by conceiving new synthetic weapons and creating the antidotes in advance. To make the antidotes, they had to first develop the poisons. However, KX was one of the chemical compounds that the Foxglove team couldn't create an antidote for.

Bala was convicted in the Hague of using the compound KX on his own people to suppress protestors. He was deposed and claimed American sources sold it to him, but there was no evidence and US involvement was dissolved.

In the present day, Bala's team steals a military-grade mobile lab containing the chemical agents and holds chemistry professor Dr. Wilfred Cole (Jay Karnes), who was part of Foxglove, and Rose hostage until they create batches of KX.

To save Rose and find out the location of the mobile lab, Peter makes a deal with intelligence broker Jacob Monroe (Louis Herthum). In exchange for the information, Peter agrees to sneak into the United Nations building and steal a case file belonging to the secretary-general.

Peter and Rose successfully halt the terrorist attack

Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin, and Amanda Warren as Catherine in season two, episode seven of "The Night Agent."
Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin, and Amanda Warren as Catherine in "The Night Agent."

Christopher Saunders/Netflix

After rescuing Rose and Dr. Cole, Peter and Rose track down 14 of the 15 total canisters of KX at the UN.

Because Bala blames the UN for covering up America's involvement in selling KX to him, he wanted the canisters to release at the building around the time the Security Council was set to gather and vote on how to split Bala's dominion into three separate countries.

Rose finds the remaining canister of KX in the HVAC of a hotel and uses the scientific knowledge she learned from Dr. Cole to mix chemicals together and start a fire large enough to close the vents and contain the weapon.

The plan works with less than a minute to spare, saving everyone in the hotel from exposure.

Peter and Rose break up and agree to go their separate ways

Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin and Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode 10 of "The Night Agent."
Buchanan and Basso in season two, episode 10 of "The Night Agent."

Netflix

After thwarting the chemical weapon plan in the finale, they reach a breaking point. Peter knows that as long as he's a night agent, people like Monroe will use Rose against him because her safety means everything to him. Plus, Rose is tired of running and wants a normal life.

They end things with Peter asking Rose to promise not to wait for his calls or come looking for him.

Showrunner Shawn Ryan told BI that he and the writers spent a lot of time talking about how realistic a relationship is under these circumstances. Ultimately, they decided that Peter and Rose breaking up "was another sacrifice that they would have to make, that their lives are just too different."

"We love to see the two of them together, but the truthful thing to us at the end of the season felt like they needed to make a commitment, at least for the time being, to be apart," Ryan said.

Basso and Buchanan agreed that it was the right decision for their characters.

"It's a responsible thing to put her safety above what he selfishly wants," Basso said.

"I actually felt like it was a realistic kind of way to end things," Buchanan said. "I think halfway through the season she's kind of made her mind up, 'This is not what I signed up for.'"

Noor Taheri and her mom become US citizens and get fresh starts

Arienne Mandi as Noor in season two, episode seven of "The Night Agent."
Arienne Mandi as Noor in season two, episode seven of "The Night Agent."

Christopher Saunders/Netflix

Noor Taheri (Arienne Mandi) is an assistant to the Iranian ambassador to the UN who secretly provides useful intel to the CIA in exchange for asylum for her mom Azita (Marjan Neshat) and her brother Farhad (Kiarash Amani).

Although Farhad gets killed during the extraction, Noor's mom safely arrives in America and she and Noor become permanent residents of the US.

When Noor later catches up with Rose weeks after the attempted terrorist attack, she explains that she's been applying for new jobs. Meanwhile, Rose has returned to California and is buried in work following her promotion at AdVerse. Rose, who has post-traumatic stress from the events of seasons one and two, also says that she's been doing therapy twice a week and feels like she can finally start her life again. She also doesn't know Peter's whereabouts but thinks it's better that way.

Ryan said that Noor and Rose are "beloved characters," but played coy about their potential returns.

"One of the things that we've tried to do with the show is to tell a new story each season, and I never want to say that anyone is in or out for the rest of its run," he said.

"We'll see what happens with them and where the show goes," the showrunner added.

Peter turns himself in for going rogue and learns he aided and abetted swinging the presidential election

Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode 10 of "The Night Agent."
Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode 10 of "The Night Agent."

Netflix

Peter admits to releasing Solomon Vega (Berto Colon), a suspect in a Night Action investigation, from custody; stealing sensitive information from the UN; and transferring that intel to Monroe, Solomon's associate.

It's then revealed that Monroe gave the stolen UN intel to US presidential candidate Richard Hagan (Ward Horton) to help him edge out the competition in the presidential election.

The intel connected Hagan's opposition, Patrick Knox (Geoffrey Owens), to Foxglove. Knox oversaw Foxglove and the sale of the weapon KX to Viktor Bala.

After Knox's involvement is exposed, he drops out of the general election, which is set to take place in two weeks. With no other candidate opposing Hagan, his win is basically guaranteed due to the valuable intel Peter stole.

Ryan told BI that he decided that Monroe and Hagan would be major players in season three later in the process of developing season two.

"They were an integral part of season two and the story we were trying to tell there," Ryan said. "And then we just decided that there was more story to tell with Jacob Monroe and that this cliffhanger that we could end on that felt like it was an appropriate end to the season two events, but gave us some runway for our mission in season three with Peter."

Peter accepts a dangerous off-the-books mission

Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland in season two, episode 10 of "The Night Agent."
Basso in season two, episode 10 of "The Night Agent."

Netflix

Catherine Weaver (Amanda Warren), Peter's boss at Night Action, believes Monroe is going to turn Hagan into a puppet and use the politician's new position of power to access classified intelligence and sell it to the highest bidders.

Considering that Monroe wiped all traces of Peter's break-in at the UN, Catherine thinks that the broker must want Peter around to do more favors for him.

Because Monroe will likely call on Peter again, Catherine wants him to do what's asked, earn Monroe's trust, determine the exact nature of his relationship with Hagan, and expose them. In return, Peter's slate will be wiped clean.

The finale concludes with Peter agreeing to the mission.

This cliffhanger sets Peter up for a tricky journey ahead. Unlike his past assignments, this one is top secret β€” even from Night Action β€” making it more difficult and dangerous.

"I think he's already screwed," Basso told BI of Peter's future. "He's already compromised. To his bosses, they know he's able to be compromised, and to this new person, they know that he wants to do the right thing. And you can't have someone who wants to do the right thing when you're asking him to do a bad thing."

"I think everybody knows they can't really control him," he continued. "And now it's, 'Where does he fit in? How long can we use him before we get rid of him?'"

Season two of "The Night Agent" is now streaming on Netflix.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Uber CEO addresses the elephant in the room: What happens to human Uber drivers once robotaxis arrive?

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi talking about AI at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said AVs will be integrated alongside its fleet of human drivers for the foreseeable future.

World Economic Forum / Sandra Blaser

  • CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he expects AVs to run parallel to human Uber drivers for the next decade.
  • He said that after 10 years of such a hybrid rideshare system, "things may be different."
  • Uber has partnered with various autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo, to offer self-driving rides.

What happens to the millions of Uber drivers when autonomous vehicles, or robotaxis, become the norm?

Uber's CEO said its human drivers won't be replaced anytime soon.

"You know, I don't think you are going to feel anything as it relates in the next five years," said chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi during a recent appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"So, for example, in San Francisco, our business continues to grow and Waymo is growing β€” just the overall envelope of the business is growing faster," he said, referencing the self-driving car division of Google's parent company, Alphabet. Uber partnered with Waymo in 2023 and provides access to self-driving rides in some cities through its app.

Though Uber plans to increase the number of AVs in its ride-hailing fleet, Khosrowshahi said that the integration will proceed slowly, at least for the coming decade.

"I think we will operate in a hybrid network," the Uber CEO said. "A combination, you know. By far predominantly human drivers, and then some AVs feathering in over the next 10 years."

After that, though, things are more murky, he suggested.

"Ten years from now, things may be different," Khosrowshahi said. "But between now and 10 years from now, the humans are going to have plenty of work, and AVs are going to work their way into the system."

Uber sold its self-driving car unit to Aurora amid financial struggles during the pandemic as it pushed for its overall business to turn a profit. The sale came more than a year after one of Uber's self-driving vehicles was involved in a fatal pedestrian crash, for which the safety driver who was in the car was ruled responsible.

Today, Uber relies on partnerships with autonomous vehicle makers, including Waymo, in a handful of US cities such as Atlanta and Austin. The company also invested in the British firm Wayve, as an extension to its $1 billion Series C funding round.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego arrives in a Waymo self-driving vehicle on Dec. 16, 2022, at the Sky Harbor International Airport Sky Train facility in Phoenix
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego arrives in a Waymo self-driving vehicle on Dec. 16, 2022, at the Sky Harbor International Airport Sky Train facility in Phoenix.

Matt York/AP

He has also said the company would "love" to partner with Tesla on its upcoming Cybercab robotaxi to make it available through the Uber app, though neither Tesla nor Musk has given any public indication that it's looking to do so.

Khosrowshahi said the broader development of autonomous vehicles is moving along at incredible speeds in the industry, and he expects the technology itself to be ready for what he calls "primetime" between "now and two years from now." But the commercialization of AVs, he said, is another matter entirely.

"The commercialization of AVs is going to take much longer," Khosrowshahi said. "The building materials, the cost of the sensors, the cars, et cetera, is too high right now."

Uber's partnerships with auto developers will help grease the wheels on AV integration, Khosrowshahi said.

"And we think that our partnering with AV developers will speed up that commercialization because we can bring them a lot more business much faster, we have fleet operations in cities in which we operate," the Uber CEO said.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment from Business Insider.

When the technology truly becomes more ubiquitous, Khosrowshahi believes it'll transform transportation for the better.

"This is a technology that's going to hit primetime, and it's going to make for safer streets for passengers," the Uber CEO said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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