Cleaning up the plastic pollution pandemic

The pandemic has seen a surge in single-use plastics, with disposable masks, gloves and other PPE equipment ceaselessly washing up on beaches across the globe. If we act now to tackle the urgent issue of plastic pollution, this could be a pivotal moment in the fight for cleaner oceans, writes Howard Angel, marine ecologist

Pests cost the economy billions every year – but natural predators can help

As governments shun the use of insecticides, companies and farmers are unleashing natural predators to protect their crops against pests

Will an IPO be enough to create new success for Airbnb?

As Airbnb approaches its highly anticipated initial public offering, security concerns are bringing the platform under increasing scrutiny

The future of remote working

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced thousands of businesses to let their staff work remotely, but many of these firms might not be as technologically prepared for the situation as they thought

Google restructures Motorola

Parent company begins streamlining of struggling mobile phone group it bought in May

After Google paid $12.5bn for Motorola Mobility in May, it was expected to bring about a range of changes in order to reverse the fortunes of the one-time leading mobile phone maker. This week, the first wave of this restructuring will see nearly 4,000 members of staff lose their jobs, according to technology website AllThingsD.

Google placed their former head of sales, Dennis Woodside, as head of the company after completing the deal in May and tasked him with reviving a mobile phone manufacturer that had lost significant ground to new entrants like Apple, Samsung and HTC. Apple and Samsung alone have secured around half of the smartphone market in the US, while also taking up to 90 percent of the industry’s profits.

Speaking to the New York Times about the future of the company, Woodside said: “We’re excited about the smartphone business. The Google business is built on a wired model, and as the world moves to a pretty much completely wireless model over time, it’s really going to be important for Google to understand everything about the mobile consumer.”

Only time will tell whether Google will succeed in making Motorola profitable again, but it hopes that by cutting around 20 percent of the company’s workforce it will result in a more efficient organisation.

Supplements

Strategy

Cleaning up the plastic pollution pandemic

Pests cost the economy billions every year – but natural predators can help

Will an IPO be enough to create new success for Airbnb?

The future of remote working