Banjo

Google’s Co-Head of Ethical AI Timnit Gebru Says She Was Fired for Email

Dina Bass, Shelly Banjo, and Mark Bergen, Bloomberg | Friday December 4, 2020

Timnit Gebru, a co-leader of the Ethical Artificial Intelligence team at Google, said she was fired for sending an email that management deemed “inconsistent with the expectations of a Google manager.”

Microsoft Tries To Salvage TikTok Deal, Says Satya Nadella Spoke To Trump

World News | Shelly Banjo and Dina Bass, Bloomberg | Monday August 3, 2020

In a bid to salvage a deal for the U.S. operations of TikTok, Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella spoke with President Donald Trump by phone about how to secure the administration's blessing to buy the wildly popular, but besieged, music video app.

TikTok Considers Big Changes to Distance Itself From China

World News | Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Friday July 10, 2020

Bytedance Ltd. said it's evaluating changes to the corporate structure of its TikTok business as U.S. concerns grow over the parent company's Chinese origins.

TikTok To Exit Hong Kong After Chinese Law Controversy, May Fuel Exodus

World News | Zheping Huang and Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Tuesday July 7, 2020

ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok declared it will remove its app from Hong Kong mobile stores in coming days, becoming the first internet service to withdraw from the city after Beijing enacted sweeping powers to crack down on national security threats.

Trump Order On H-1B Leaves Many US Workers Stuck In India

India News | Olivia Carville and Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Wednesday July 1, 2020

Natasha Bhat learned in late February that her father-in-law had suddenly died. Bhat, 35, recently recalled how she grabbed a backpack and hustled her U.S.-born 4-year-old son to the San Francisco airport to catch a midnight flight to India, her home country. She didn't anticipate being stuck there indefinitely.

"Disappointed," Says Sundar Pichai As Trump Pauses Work Visas

World News | Justin Sink, Shelly Banjo and Olivia Carville, Bloomberg | Tuesday June 23, 2020

President Donald Trump signed an order Monday temporarily halting access to several employment-based visas, affecting hundreds of thousands of people seeking to work in the U.S. The technology industry said the move would hurt the economy.

Over 200,000 H-1B Workers Could Lose Their Right To Be In US By June

World News | Olivia Carville and Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Wednesday April 29, 2020

Manasi Vasavada has less than three weeks left before she loses her legal right to be in the country. The dental practice in Passaic County, New Jersey, where Vasavada, 31, has worked for almost two years closed its doors in mid-March due to Covid-19. She has been on an unpaid leave of absence ever since.

Coronavirus Outbreak Forces World's Largest Work-From-Home Experiment

World News | Shelly Banjo, Livia Yap, Colum Murphy & Vinicy Chan, Bloomberg | Monday February 3, 2020

Thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, working from home is no longer a privilege, it's a necessity. While factories, shops, hotels and restaurants are warning about plunging foot traffic that is transforming city centers into ghost towns, behind the closed doors of apartments and suburban homes, thousands of businesses are trying to figure out how to...

TikTok’s Appeal May Be Waning as Downloads Fall for the First Time

Zheping Huang, Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Friday October 25, 2019

TikTok has evolved to become a global phenomenon known for lighthearted content - including lip-syncing and dancing - uploaded by users from Boston to Bangalore.

US Tech Firms Cozy Up to China Despite Trade Turmoil

Shelly Banjo, Zheping Huang, Ian King, Bloomberg | Monday July 15, 2019

The US-China trade war is anchored in competition to dominate the next generation of wireless networks and other technologies as much as politics.

Amazon's Merchants Are Feeling the Pain of a Trade War With China

Shelly Banjo, Spencer Soper, Bloomberg | Tuesday June 25, 2019

Amazon.com merchants around the world are scrambling to navigate an unpredictable trade war that's upending their proven business model.

Microsoft Workers Join China's Debate Over Gruelling Workweek

Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Tuesday April 23, 2019

The repository has been quickly blocked on Chinese websites. Microsoft employees are asking that it remain open, according to an open letter published on Monday on GitHub.

Google's Secret China Project Said to Spark Anger Among Workers

Mark Bergen, Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Friday August 3, 2018

Google staff awoke on Wednesday to surprising news: Their company is working on a search app tailored, and censored, for China.

Google's Secret China Project Sparks Anger Among Workers

World News | Mark Bergen, Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg | Thursday August 2, 2018

Google staff awoke on Wednesday to surprising news: Their company is working on a search app tailored, and censored, for China. The project, kept secret from all but select teams and leaders, sparked a furious internal debate.

Google Bets $1.1 Billion More Brains Can Help Take On Apple

Shelly Banjo and Mark Bergen, Bloomberg | Tuesday January 30, 2018

Google officially closed its $1.1 billion deal with HTC, adding more than 2,000 smartphone specialists in Taiwan to help the search giant chase Apple.