June 8, 2022

Illustration: Christopher T. Fong/Protocol
Good morning! Layoffs are on the rise, which means some talented employees are hunting for their next gig. It’s prime time to recruit — but that doesn’t mean it’s an employer's market just yet. Also: The EU is taking aim at Big Tech again, and this time the primary target is Apple. Thanks for joining us this Wednesday! Let’s do it.
As tech companies big and small cut staff and rescind job offers, you’ve likely seen at least a few LinkedIn posts from recruiters trying to take advantage: “If you’ve been impacted by the layoffs at *insert company name here*, my startup is hiring!” One upside of a downturn: Companies in search of talent have a window to recruit some impressive workers.
Some of the top tech companies have laid off employees. Talented workers from Netflix, PayPal, Robinhood and many more are suddenly available. It’s no wonder that recruiters are swooping in.
But recruiters don't have inboxes full of résumés. Employees who have been laid off still seem to be as picky about their next opportunities as they were when The Great Resignation was in full swing.
So it’s still a candidate's market — for now. It just might not stay that way for long.
For workers, having an impressive company name on a résumé is a plus — especially after a layoff. For employers, scooping up that talent might soon get a lot easier.
The European Union is taking aim at tech companies yet again, this time finalizing a rule that will require device makers to embrace a universal charging port: USB-C. Odds are that Apple isn’t pleased; the company’s iPhones have used a proprietary Lightning port for more than a decade. But the EU is arguing that it’s a win for consumers — and the climate.
EU efforts to regulate tech companies show no signs of slowing. The rule follows the passage of the bloc’s landmark Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, which are both designed to crack down on Big Tech. So why charging, of all things?
Apple will be forced to change its iPhone design. The company has been clinging to its Lightning port for more than a decade, but iPhones sold in Europe will have to switch to USB-C. That likely means the company will move the entire lineup to USB-C to avoid supply chain headaches.
Despite its kicking and screaming, when the new rule takes effect, Apple will surely be ready. The first iPhones with USB-C ports are reportedly due out next year. The EU’s USB-C requirement is slated to take effect in fall 2024 — perfect timing.
— Caitlin McGarry (email | twitter)Adding 2-Step Verification verification to your account is the best thing you can do to help prevent cyberattacks.
That’s why Google has made it easy to sign into your account with this additional layer of protection. Just one tap and you’re in.
Tim Cook thinks it’s important for companies to prioritize doing good — even in a crisis:
He also called Apple's return-to-office plan the "mother of all experiments":
Affirm CEO Max Levchin isn’t worried about Apple Pay Later:
E3 will return in 2023 as a hybrid event, after being canceled this year (for the second time in three years).
Waymo and Uber are partnering on driverless trucks. Waymo is integrating Uber's truck brokerage service, Freight, to enable fleet owners to deploy autonomous trucks.
Alex Kipman is leaving Microsoft. Kipman was the company's HoloLens boss and has been with Microsoft for a couple decades.
Greylock general partner Sarah Guo is leavingthe VC firm to start her own fund. Guo was Greylock’s second female general partner in its more than 50-year history.
Crypto financial services in California may soon need a license. A bill introduced Tuesday aims to regulate crypto investing, trading and lending.
SpaceX’s Starlink isn’t going public until 2025 or later, Elon Musk told employees. He'd previously aimed to take the company public as soon as this year.
Shell will start selling renewable energy in Texas. The move brings Shell’s push into green energy to the U.S.
PayPal users can now transfer cryptocurrency from PayPal to and from other wallets and exchanges. The feature is available now to some users and will be open to the rest of eligible U.S. users in coming weeks.
Some of Elon Musk’s Twitter financing is on hold. The uncertainty he's created about the deal has reportedly led to arrangements for Apollo Global Management to chip in up to $3 billion being paused.
Bird plans to lay off 23% of its staff, according to the layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi. It currently has about 600 employees. Online car dealer Cazoo is also laying off 15% of its staff and pausing new hiring. The company employs around 3,500 people.
Twitter's reportedly aiming to grow its monetizable daily active users — those are the ones who see ads — by 13 million this quarter, its most ambitious goal for the metric so far.
BlackRock, Delta and Netflix CEOs are on a list of sanctions that Russia has imposed in retaliation for economic restrictions put in place following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
What really constitutes a good work perk? Unlimited paid time off, fitness rooms, hammocks and ping-pong tables might make a company seem cool on the surface, but those "perks" are actually increasingly seen as red flags. Often when companies emphasize silly benefits like ping-pong, it's a distraction from the lack of important benefits like a remote-first workplace or good employee-leave systems. Employers take note: Forget the in-office massages and pay attention to what workers really want.
To counter the rise in phishing attempts in collaborative working tools, Google is expanding its proven AI-powered phishing protections to Google Workspace. You are automatically alerted if the doc you’re working in contains a suspicious link, and are taken back to safety.
Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to sourcecode@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you tomorrow.
Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter cited an inaccurate source regarding Sarah Guo's status at Greylock. This newsletter was updated on June 8, 2022.
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