Amazon, Instacart workers protest
Workers of e-commerce giant Amazon and US grocery delivery firm Instacart are on strike over concerns about safety and meagre paychecks amid the coronavirus crisis.
#BREAKING: Over 100 Amazon employees at JFK8 warehouse walk off the job over @amazon’s dangerous response to protec… https://t.co/f2RjMEXdxu
— Make the Road NY (@MaketheRoadNY) 1585587945000
Amazon said it has taken “extreme measures” to clean buildings and obtain safety gear while Instacart said the strike of its contractors had “absolutely no impact to its operations.” Read more.
Airbnb sets aside $250M to pay hosts
Airbnb said it will give $250 million to hosts on its platform who have lost money from coronavirus-related cancellations at their properties. Airbnb was facing criticism from guests and hosts on its platform over its refund policies related to the global pandemic. Earlier this month, the home-sharing platform had tweaked its refund policy, allowing guests to cancel their bookings and receive refunds. Read more.
Social media firms crackdown on Covid-19 misinformation
Social media firms Facebook and Twitter are cracking down on coronavirus-related misinformation on their platforms, even if it comes from world leaders. Twitter has removed tweets by the presidents of Brazil and Venezuela while Facebook has deleted a video posted by Brazil’s president from its flagship social networking platform and Instagram. Read more at The Verge.
Kabbage furloughs employees
SoftBank-backed lending startup Kabbage is furloughing a “significant number” of its US team of 500 employees while executive staff is taking a “considerable” pay cut. The company is also shutting down its Bengaluru office that was opened last year. Read more at TechCrunch.
Growth of video conferencing apps
Video conferencing apps have been witnessing record growth due to work-from-home policies, social distancing, and government lockdowns. This has led to business apps topping 62 million downloads across iOS and Google Play during March 14-21 across the world, up 45% from the week prior and up 90% from the weekly average of business app downloads in 2019. Read more at App Annie.
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