Robots, AI Take Over Mobile World Congress in Shanghai
AI, 5G and robots are in focus at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, Asia's largest conference for the mobile economy. Bloomberg's Chief North Asia correspondent, Stephen Engle brings us this report.
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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says company will cut jobs amid AI boom. It's already happening at Microsoft.
Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy said the company will reduce its workforce in the coming years, and Microsoft (MSFT) is reportedly planning thousands of layoffs, just as the two companies invest billions in AI. Microsoft is expected to announce the cuts, primarily aimed at its sales teams, early next month, according to Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources. Microsoft declined to confirm the cuts to Yahoo Finance. A spokesperson said, 'As they typically do year-round, teams evaluate business priorities and ensure they are aligning to the right opportunities for strategic growth.' The news came a day after Amazon's Jassy said that AI will lead to job cuts at his own company. 'As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,' Jassy said in a memo to employees Tuesday. 'It's hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.' Jassy said Amazon is 'using Generative AI broadly across our internal operations' for tasks like inventory management and demand forecasting in its delivery system. The CEO said, because of AI, 'We'll be able to focus less on rote work and more on thinking strategically about how to improve customer experiences and invent new ones.' The comments were met with backlash from employees. Meanwhile, Amazon and Microsoft have been spending billions to advance their artificial intelligence efforts. Amazon has consistently reported higher capital expenditures than its fellow Big Tech 'hyperscalers' over the past several years, driven by its investments in AI infrastructure. In 2025, that trend is set to continue. Amazon has projected it will spend roughly $105 billion, much higher than its peers, with the vast majority going to AI infrastructure for its cloud segment, Amazon Web Services. Microsoft is set to spend $80 billion in 2025 to build out AI data centers. Amazon and Microsoft have both announced layoffs in recent years. Microsoft laid off 3% of its workforce in May after an upbeat earnings report. Amazon slashed over 27,000 jobs between 2022 and 2023, just as Jassy was touting its AI efforts. The company laid off another 100 workers in May amid the CEO's aggressive effort to cut middle management while looking to run Amazon like 'the world's largest startup.' According to the most recent report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 'technological updates' at companies, such as the implementation of AI, led to 20,000 layoffs in the first five months of 2025. Goldman Sachs estimated in a report last year that generative AI was set to automate nearly 25% of jobs across all industries. Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @ Email her at Sign in to access your portfolio
News24
13 minutes ago
- News24
Rethink mobile photography with AI
South Africa will get its first close-up look at the new HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro. Judging by the immediate reaction, it will not disappoint. The series will launch at the Kyalami Racecourse in Midrand. Here, the unveiling of the HONOR 400 and HONOR 400 Pro will bring together tech, creativity and speed in a way that hits home for local users. But behind the fanfare and flashbulbs, one feature stood out, AI SuperZoom. It's the kind of innovation that quietly shifts how we take photos. More than just digital zoom, it's a smart system that brings detail forward without the blur. Whether you're photographing Table Mountain from Sea Point, trying to capture elephants from a safe distance in Pilanesberg, or zooming into the lights of the Jozi skyline, AI SuperZoom turns moments that were 'too far' into visual gold. And that's just the start. Here's 7 things that instantly change when AI SuperZoom lands in your hands. 1. You'll zoom in on life like a cinematographer Suddenly you're not just snapping photos. You're framing scenes. With 30x zoom on the HONOR 400 and up to 50x on the HONOR 400 Pro, you can capture a saxophonist on Long Street from across the road or spot a lion lazing in the shade at Kruger without needing a heavy lens or perfect timing. 2. You'll spot details you've walked past for years That weathered signage above the Fish Hoek café you've never noticed. The distant hilltop ruins outside Clarens? With AI SuperZoom, the camera doesn't just zoom - it finds meaning in the margins and turns the unnoticed into something worth sharing. 3. You'll become the friend who gets the shot At the rugby? On the beach? Or in the back row at that Amapiano festival or back of the stadium waiting to see that winning penalty converted. Whichever corner its scored – you'll know instantly. AI SuperZoom means you're not just part of the moment; you're capturing it properly. Whether it's a 7-year old's big moment on the school stage or a DJ mid-spin, distance no longer limits quality. 4. You'll start trusting zoom again For years, smartphone zoom has meant blur, noise and disappointment. HONOR's AI SuperZoom changes that. It sharpens intelligently, enhances lighting and balances detail without you needing to touch a thing. The result? Zoomed photos that still feel like your vision, just closer. 5. You'll create moving memories without editing Snap a photo, then let AI Image to Video turn it into a dynamic clip. From a still frame of Constitution Hill or a portrait shot at dusk in Maboneng, you can generate a short, cinematic video with a tap. It's instant, social-ready and a real storytelling flex. 6. You'll reclaim the past with AI upscale Got that old, printed photo of your Gogo at the Union Buildings in 1965? Use AI Upscale to restore it digitally, eliminating scratches and adding clarity. What used to be a memory trapped in fading paper becomes a high-res moment you can share with your family WhatsApp group. Take that bow. 7. You'll stop saying 'I'll edit it later' With AI Erase Passers-by and SuperZoom working in real time, your phone starts handling edits as you shoot. No more background clutter. No more cropping after the fact. The photo you wanted is the one you get, straight out the camera. Paired with a 200MP Ultra-clear AI Camera, features like AI Image to Video, AI Erase Passers-by, and AI Upscale, the HONOR 400 Series feels less like a phone and more like a creative toolkit built for the streets, skylines and stories of Mzansi. It even gets closer to the all-round value Mzansi wants - with a 6000mAh battery, 80W SuperCharge for HONOR 400 and 100W SuperCharge for the HONOR 400 Pro, a 5000nit Ultra Bright Display and intelligent tools running on MagicOS 9.0, the HONOR 400 Series. Whether it's your city, your culture or the people around you, this is a lens that brings everything into focus - a creative companion for Mzansi in every beautiful daily detail.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China floods Brazil with cheap EVs triggering backlash
By Alessandro Parodi and Victoria Waldersee (Reuters) -The world's largest car-carrying ship - with the equivalent of 20 football fields of vehicles - completed its maiden journey late last month to dock in Brazil's Itajai port. But not everyone is cheering its arrival. BYD, China's top producer of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, is offering Brazilian car shoppers relatively low-priced options in a market where the green-car movement is still in its infancy. Brazilian auto-industry officials and labor leaders worry that the vast influx of cars from BYD and other Chinese automakers will set back domestic auto production and hurt jobs. BYD has deployed a growing fleet of cargo ships to accelerate its expansion overseas, with Brazil becoming its top target, according to Reuters analysis of shipping data and company statements. The late-May shipment was the fourth of the Chinese carmaker's ships to dock in Brazil this year, totaling around 22,000 vehicles, according to Reuters calculations. BYD, the world's top producer of electric and plug-in hybrid cars, is the largest among several Chinese brands targeting Brazil for growth. China-built vehicle imports are expected to grow nearly 40% this year, to about 200,000, according to Brazil's main auto association. That would account for roughly 8% of total light-vehicle registrations. Industry and labor groups say China is taking advantage of Brazil's temporarily low tariff barriers to ramp up its exports rather than investing to build Brazilian factories and create jobs. They are lobbying Brazil's government to accelerate by a year a plan to increase Brazil's tariff on all EV imports to 35% from 10%, rather than gradually phasing in higher levies. "Countries around the world started closing their doors to the Chinese, but Brazil didn't," said Aroaldo da Silva, a Mercedes-Benz production worker and president of IndustriALL Brasil, a confederation of unions across six industrial sectors. "China made use of that." BYD did not respond to a request for comment on the industry's concerns. SURPLUS CARS Brazil has emerged as a flashpoint in the China auto industry's torrid global expansion. A growing surplus of new cars being pumped out of Chinese factories has led to an export boom over the past five years, helping China pass Japan in 2023 to become the world's top vehicle exporter. Much of this excess is being shipped overseas, to markets like Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Brazil offers an enticing destination due to its large market - it is the sixth-largest car market by volume - where established players including Volkswagen, General Motors and Jeep-maker Stellantis have been building cars domestically for decades. The Brazilian government has set policies aimed at growing sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars, BYD's specialty. Meanwhile, BYD's path for growth elsewhere has narrowed, both domestically and overseas. At home, the company is mired in a bruising price war that has seen it slash the price of its entry-level Seagull to below $10,000, squeezing profit margins. Abroad, governments have erected stiff trade barriers for Chinese cars, including a 45.3% duty in Europe and a tariff of more than 100% in the United States, along with a ban on Chinese software in cars. For years, Brazilian officials have taken steps to protect the market from unfettered access by Chinese car companies. But it has been slower to react and less aggressive than other nations. In 2015, Brazil eliminated tariffs on manufacturers like BYD to spur electric vehicle adoption, but last year it reintroduced a 10% tariff on electric cars to encourage investment in the domestic auto industry. The tariff is scheduled to increase every six months before hitting 35% in 2026. Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry & Foreign Trade told Reuters that a request by Brazil's auto association, ANFAVEA, and others to pull forward the higher tariff was under review. "The schedule for the gradual resumption of tariffs, with decreasing quotas, was established to allow companies to continue with their development plans and respect the maturity of manufacturing in the country," a ministry spokesperson added. BYD and other Chinese companies also are taking advantage of a policy in Brazil that allows them to import toll-free up to $169 million for plug-in hybrids imported by July 2025 and $226 million for battery-electric cars. That incentivizes front loading of vehicle shipments to fully benefit from the toll-free quotas before they expire, analysts said. 'EXCESS OF IMPORTS' BYD's export strategy hinges on the carmaker being able to continue growing shipments without triggering resistance from local authorities. But industry representatives in Brazil have grown increasingly worried that BYD's plans to begin domestic vehicle production are being pushed off. In 2023, government officials cheered BYD's plan to purchase a former Ford plant in the state of Bahia, viewing it as a way to create manufacturing jobs and spur the country's green transition. But an investigation into labor abuses on the construction site pushed back its timeline for "fully functional" production to December 2026, local officials said in May. Another Chinese automaker, GWM, also delayed by more than a year its plan to start making cars at a former Mercedes-Benz plant. The Brazilian government expects the plant to begin operating this year. "We support the arrival of new brands in Brazil to produce, promote the components sector, create jobs and bring new technologies,' Igor Calvet, president of ANFAVEA, told Reuters. 'But from the moment that an excess of imports causes lower investment in production in Brazil, that worries us." Da Silva of IndustriALL said his confederation of unions had not heard of any local supplier relationships being developed or contracts being signed for the BYD plant, as would normally be expected 18 months from the start of production. "Even if the factory is here - what value is it really adding if the components, development, and technology is all from abroad?" da Silva said. BYD did not respond to a request for comment on its supplier network. President Lula da Silva's left-wing Workers Party government is scrambling to protect jobs and the environment as it aims to both revive Brazil's industrial economy and restore its green credentials ahead of hosting the COP30 global climate summit this November. Still, the country's nascent green-car movement leans on Chinese imports, which account for more than 80% of Brazil's electric-car sales, according to Brazil's EV association, ABVE. The country has abundant mineral resources including lithium and other key ingredients to make EV batteries. But the infrastructure to produce all the necessary components for electric cars does not exist yet, said Ricardo Bastos, director of government relations at GWM Brazil and president of ABVE. GWM, which bought a factory in Brazil in 2021 with capacity for 50,000 cars a year and is due to start producing its Haval H6 SUV there this July, is in talks with around 100 Brazil-based suppliers on setting up contracts, Bastos told Reuters. "This year, imported cars will coexist alongside cars produced in Brazil," Bastos said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
