Uber

The top court in Massachusetts blocked a ballot measure Tuesday that would have asked voters to classify gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees, saying the measure overreached by limiting gig companies’ liability in some situations. The decision is a setback for companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. UBER -2.23% and Lyft Inc. LYFT -0.91% that rely on such…

Photo: Adam Berry (Getty Images)Gig work companies were stymied this week in their quest to upend traditional worker classifications.On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled against companies like Uber and Lyft who supported a ballot initiative that, if passed, would have classified so-called “gig workers” as independent contractors rather than employees. In their unanimous ruling, the court criticized the unconstitutional proposal for being based on “vaguely worded provisions.”Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other…

Wonder Group, a food-delivery startup led by Jet.com founder Marc Lore, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the business at a time when the venture-capital market is cooling.New York-based Wonder closed a $350 million funding round last month, according to company officials, bringing the total amount raised in debt and equity over the past year to $900 million. The latest funding values the company at roughly $3.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.…

Global companies have racked up more than $59 billion in losses from their Russian operations, with more financial pain to come as sanctions hit the economy and sales and shutdowns continue, according to a review of public statements and securities filings.Almost 1,000 Western businesses have pledged to exit or cut back operations in Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine, according to Yale researchers. Many are reassessing the reported value of those Russian businesses, as a weakening local economy and a lack of…

AMSTERDAM: Uber said that it had donated a customised version of its "Uber Direct" software app to the U.N.'s World Food Programme to help distribute food in Ukraine. The WFP is scaling up operations in Ukraine and expects to be able to provide food and cash to 3 million people per month by June, the agency said in a joint statement with Uber. The software will allow the WFP to coordinate a fleet of vehicles and track deliveries in real time to densely populated areas where larger vehicles might not be able to travel…

Fast News The World Food Programme is using a custom-built version of Uber's technology platform to dispatch smaller vehicles in Ukrainian areas, where larger trucks can't get through. In the statement, Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the company was providing access to its…

Bird is the latest tech company to announce layoffs in 2022.Photo: Gerard Julien / AFP (Getty Images)Bird announced Wednesday it would lay off 23% of its employees from different teams and regions across the globe. The news, which was first reported by TechCrunch Tuesday, comes after the scooter company revealed it was off to a rough financial start in 2022. When Bird announced its first quarter earnings in May, reporting a hit in revenue, gross margins, and ride profits, founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden said that the…

Waymo Via, the self-driving trucking unit of Alphabet Inc, and Uber Technology Inc.'s Freight business said they signed a long-term strategic partnership that would allow future customers to deploy autonomous trucks more efficiently. The companies did not share a timeline for when their partnership could be used by paying customers, and Waymo and Uber Freight declined to disclose financial details of the agreement. Under the partnership, future Waymo customers can use Uber Freight to more efficiently plan their automated…

Uber and Waymo have put the past aside, and are now in it for the long haul. On Tuesday, the two companies, previously legal foes, announced a new partnership. Together, they’re planning to combine Waymo’s self-driving technology with Uber Freight’s shipping network to help automate long-distance trucking.Although a version of reality where highways are packed with driverless semi-trucks is a long way off, the companies are angling to “bring together the power of the Waymo Driver with the scale of Uber Freight’s…

A vision for the future of logistics includes self-driving trucks like this one pictured by Alphabet-owned Waymo handling the long-hauls then ceding cargo to humans for the local legs to destinations. Uber and Google's autonomous vehicle unit Waymo on Tuesday said they are joining forces to get driverless trucks hauling cargo on roads across the United States.…