Technologies

T-Mobile Layoffs Hit Retail Staff

The company is refocusing on more retail store formats.

T-Mobile has reportedly laid off a number of employees as the carrier shifts its retail strategy. Company workers have been impacted by the retail move and have been told about their options and next steps.

The carrier declined to offer specifics on the scope and scale of the layoffs, but Wave7 Research analyst Jeff Moore told Light Reading they could amount to about 600 employees. Moore said the layoffs are mostly among territorial retail managers and retail dealers.

This would reflect the greater retail strategy change that Jon Freier, president of T-Mobile’s consumer group, outlined in a blog post Thursday. The carrier is moving away from one-size-fits-all stores and expanding to four kinds of retail formats: showrooms for events and product launches, broad-service «Experience stores,» smaller company-owned stores stocked with «top products,» and the Metro-branded «Express stores» aimed at the prepaid market .

«Is brick-and-mortar retail dead? Here’s what I think: Yes, the way we’ve known it is dead,» Freier said in the post.

On Thursday, early reports noticed by Nwida said T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile territory managers were being laid off. They were reportedly offered the option to apply for their old jobs, which would have new titles.

T-Mobile has gone through waves of layoffs in recent years. Hundreds of jobs in the carrier’s small business sales unit were reportedly cut in June 2020 as part of streamlining following finalization of T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion merger with Sprint. Absorbing the other carrier led to later rounds of layoffs, in 2021 and 2022, though T-Mobile has also hired new workers in this period as it shifts its strategies.

T-Mobile isn’t alone in cutting jobs. Verizon announced an undisclosed number of layoffs last August after a disappointing second quarter, and AT&T let go of a few hundred employees in December as part of a refocus on faster-growing segments like 5G and fiber internet.

Technologies

Waymo Expands Its Robotaxi Fleet to Las Vegas, San Diego and Detroit. Everything to Know

Here’s everywhere the self-driving company operates now and where it’s heading soon.

Technologies

Apple Plans to Use a Custom Model of Google’s Gemini AI to Power Siri, Report Says

Apple reportedly chose Google over Anthropic for financial reasons.

Apple is turning to Google to make a custom Gemini AI model to power the next version of its virtual assistant Siri for spring 2026, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on Sunday.

According to the report, Apple was evaluating whether to use Google or AI competitor Anthropic for the next version of Siri. Gurman says Google offered a better financial deal. In an earlier Bloomberg report, he says Anthropic would have cost Apple $1.5 billion per year. The report doesn’t reveal Apple’s own financial offer.

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This custom Gemini model will run on Apple’s private cloud compute servers. Apple’s own models will continue to run on devices for personal data, while Gemini would operate on servers for more complex tasks. Gurman also says that Apple won’t highlight Google’s involvement in the company’s marketing.

Representatives for Google, Apple and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With major tech companies pivoting toward AI, Apple has largely been left behind. The tech company was slow to adopt AI and hasn’t developed AI models that are competitive. It instead turned to companies like OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to help add generative capabilities on top of existing Apple systems.

Even then, the promise of a truly agentic Apple Intelligence has failed to materialize, although it has improved. Apple CEO Tim Cook also hasn’t ruled out the possibility of acquiring an AI company.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Apple also has a close relationship with Google. The search giant pays Apple $20 billion annually to remain the default search engine on Apple devices. It’s a relationship that nets Apple money and prevents it from building a competitor to Google Search, a claim Apple denies. This arrangement was an important factor in the Department of Justice’s case against Google, where a judge ruled that the company was operating an illegal monopoly.

Despite falling behind on AI, Apple is doing well financially. Last month, it surpassed a $4 trillion market cap.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 4, #877

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 4, #877.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics. They’re not too tough, but let’s hope you recognize your computer-related phrases. If you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Point in the right direction.

Green group hint: Like a veneer, or veil.

Blue group hint: Like JPG.

Purple group hint: Musical instrument.