Happy April Fools' Day, if you're into that sort of thing.
The Amazon union vote in Alabama is too close to call, and you can now add a Tesla to your growing list of monthly subscriptions.
Shall we?
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1. Two Amazon warehouses that voted on unionization are counting votes. The vote at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, is still too close to call, but an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island may be the first in the country to unionize, with a decision as early as today.
- In Bessemer, an initial tally last night showed workers were poised to reject unionization for a second time (the first vote took place last April, but the US labor board rejected it, citing misbehavior from Amazon), with a count of 993 against the union and 875 in favor of it.
- Meanwhile, a similar effort by the newly formed Amazon Labor Union showed pro-union votes ahead at a warehouse in Staten Island. There, as the first day of counting closed yesterday, the union was leading with 1,518 votes in favor and 1,154 opposed.
- Hundreds more ballots are challenged and remain to be counted, with the vote in Bessemer potentially taking weeks to finalize. Previous reporting by Insider found Amazon is all but sure to win again in Alabama.
Get the latest news on the union efforts.
In other news:
2. For six months, a Facebook bug reportedly amplified misinformation instead of stifling it. According to The Verge, a "massive ranking failure" on Facebook's News Feed heavily distributed posts containing nudity, violence, and false information. What we know so far.
3. Gopuff cut more than 400 employees as part of a restructuring. An email sent to employees and obtained by Insider shows the ultrafast delivery company laid off 3% of its global workforce, including corporate and warehouse employees, on Thursday. Read the email to staff here.
4. A Twitter account translating Chinese propaganda about the Ukraine war built 60,000 followers — and set off an international firestorm. The Great Translation Movement, which translates Chinese-language posts into English, has attracted both thousands of followers and criticism from state media calling it a "smear campaign." Inside the controversial account.
5. What went wrong at Fridge No More? Insiders and a company cofounder revealed how the ultrafast delivery player went from $17 million in funding and a DoorDash deal to a sudden and "devastating" end. A look at the company's final days.
6. Apple just made it harder for thieves to make money from stolen iPhones. Apple technicians have been instructed not to repair iPhones that have been listed as missing on a global database. Get the full rundown here.
7. These former Shopify employees have launched their own startups. Embracing the e-commerce giant's mantra of being "a company for entrepreneurs, built by entrepreneurs," 34 former employees have created their own startups, from snack brands to software companies. Meet the Shopify Mafia (and their companies).
8. Employees share the companies with the best engineering, product, and design teams. Using employee responses, Comparably released its list of firms with some of the best departments. According to workers, UiPath boasts the best engineering team, while HubSpot has the best product and design teams. See the other contenders here.
Odds and ends:
9. A Tesla subscription service is coming to select US cities. Rental car startup Kyte is launching a Tesla Model 3 subscription service, which, starting at $995 per month, will let customers drive a Tesla for three-month, six-month, or 12-month terms. Get the rundown on the subscription.
10. We've got a quick guide to Spotify's Car Thing. The Car Thing (yes, that's its actual name) is a small touchscreen device that can effectively replace your car's built-in stereo. Everything you need to know about the Car Thing.
The latest people moves in tech:
- Oracle's cloud business quietly reshuffled itself after key exec Don Johnson moved to assist chairman Larry Ellison.
- Crypto news site The Block appointed a new editor-in-chief from Bloomberg.
- Mike Frazzini, head of Amazon Games Studio, stepped down this week.
- FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith plans to step down in June. He'll be replaced by company veteran Raj Subramaniam.
- Ben Smith and Justin Smith's media startup Semafor has hired a chief revenue officer from The New York Times.
- Robert Isom became the new CEO of American Airlines.
- Shell CFO Jessica Uhl stepped down this week.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Michael Cogley in London.