spinoff | Common News Update

Apr22021 by adminNo Comments

CEO of Google’s self-driving car spinoff steps down from job

Technology

The executive who steered the transformation of Google’s self-driving car project into a separate company worth billions of dollars is stepping down after more than five years on the jobBy MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology WriterApril 2, 2021, 8:30 PM• 3 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleSAN RAMON, Calif. -- The executive who steered the transformation of Google's self-driving car project into a separate company worth billions of dollars is stepping down after more than five years on the job.John Krafcik announced his departure as CEO of Waymo, a company spun out from Google, in a Friday blog post that cited his desire to enjoy life as the world emerges from the pandemic.“I'm looking forward to a refresh period, reconnecting with old friends and family, and dis...

Mothercare recovery falters as it plots UK spin-off

Business

By John-Paul Ford Rojas, business reporter Mothercare has revealed its battle to turn around its fortunes is proving tougher than expected as it confirmed plans for "evolving and optimising" the ownership of its UK business.The beleaguered retailer reported a 3.2% fall in first quarter like-for-like sales amid an "uncertain and volatile" market and "fragile consumer confidence". It said that against this backdrop and the need for continued discounting, profit margin improvements were "expected to take longer than previously anticipated" and annual profitability was set to show no improvement on the previous year - when it reported a pre-tax loss of £66.6m.Shares fell 11% in early trading.The update came hours after Sky News revealed that Mothercare was...

Google's robotic spinoff launches ride-hailing service

Technology

Google's self-driving car spinoff is finally ready to try to profit from its nearly decade-old technology. Waymo is introducing a small-scale ride-hailing service in the Phoenix area that will include a human behind the wheel in case the robotic vehicles malfunction. The service debuting Wednesday marks a significant milestone for Waymo, a company that began as a secretive project within Google in 2009. Since then, its cars have robotically logged more 10 million miles on public roads in 25 cities in California, Arizona, Washington, Michigan and Georgia while getting into only a few accidents — mostly fender benders. The company is initially operating the new service cautiously, underscoring the challenges still facing its autonomous vehicles as they navigate around vehicles with h...