$400k Salary But Fired For $25? #Bruh

Hello Bestie!

Well, well, well, look who is back again! Your one and only Tomi 💚…from Trove.

How are you, my fave, doing today? Hope you’re still out there turning heads, cashing checks, and living that soft life you desire.

And hey, speaking of cashing checks, have you checked out the Earn by Trove feature yet? Don’t just take my word for it; see what others are saying! Here’s a quick shoutout from one of our savvy users who’s already reaping the benefits. 😉

So, back to the business of today!

This week has been filled with so much drama…Grab your popcorn while I get mine too because it’s a whole reality show!

Use Your Meal Credits Wisely, Uncle Mark Might Be Watching! 👀

Imagine working so hard in your dream company, and living that Silicon Valley dream… and then BAM! You get fired for buying toothpaste, acne pads, and wine glasses with your meal credits.😳

Yep, you read that right.

Meta, just handed out pink slips to 24 staff at their LA offices. Why, you ask? Well, these folks decided to get a little too creative with their $25 meal voucher. You know how it is — some toothpaste here, a laundry detergent there, and oh, why not throw in some wine glasses too? 👀.

(I’m not sure about you, but I’m over here like, “Was it that deep, Uncle Mark?”)

The thing is, Uncle Mark usually feeds his staff for free from canteens at its larger offices, including its sprawling Silicon Valley headquarters. But those at smaller sites are given daily credits to order food through delivery services such as UberEats and Grubhub. Daily allowances include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and $25 for dinner.

So, instead of using their vouchers to order food, some employees were using it for groceries like toothpaste and tea.

One Meta employee who is raking in a cool $400K salary, even stated on Blind (you know, that anonymous gist app for the tech world), that they used the credits for toothpaste and tea when they weren’t eating at the office. Even with that salary, they got the boot because of Toothpaste?!

This shake-up went down just as Meta announced more restructuring across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs.
So, you had better use your meal tickets wisely, because your Uncle Mark might be watching! 👀

Google’s Taking AI to the Next Level

Google just signed a deal to use small nuclear reactors to power its AI data centers.

I know what you’re thinking—”Nuclear power for AI? What is heaven’s sake is going on here?!” 😲Well, Google has teamed up with Kairos Power to start this reactor project by the end of this decade, with plans to light up even more reactors by 2035. However, they’ve kept the exact location of these reactors on the low for now. 🤐 (Maybe they don’t want us all rushing to buy land next to them like it’s Banana Island!)

Michael Terrell, Google’s energy guy, basically said, “We’re doing this to meet the energy needs for AI without choking the planet. AI is cool, but let’s keep things green.”
And in the words of Kairos’ Jeff Olson, this deal is all about proving that nuclear energy is not just for superheroes but for saving the planet too. Who knew saving the world could be this techie? 👀👀

But hey, not everyone’s popping champagne bottles over this. Critics are out here side-eyeing the nuclear move, saying it’s risky business with all that radioactive waste it leaves behind.

Elevance Health’s Plot Twist

Elevance Health just hit us with their revenue report, they made a cool $44.7 BILLION (yeah, with a B, not an M), that’s up by 5.3% from last year!

And yep, they beat the Street’s expectations of $43.33 billion. But then they turned around and hit us with a plot twist —I mean not everything is always rosy!

Profit went down like a failed TikTok dance challenge. 🤦🏽‍♀️ It fell by 21% to $1.02 billion, or $4.36 a share. Ouch!

Adjusted earnings also slid to $8.37 per share, missing that $9.66 target. 😬Also, its medical membership dropped by 1.5 million (a 3% drop), mainly due to Medicaid changes; Some people were no longer qualified for Medicaid, while some states changed their Medicaid programs.

Uber’s Secret Crush on Expedia

Expedia shares got their glow-up last week. Why, you ask? Well, there has been a little rumor that Uber Technologies Inc. might have a crush on them! Yeah, you heard me right — Uber is out here considering a takeover of Expedia, as reported by the Financial Times

After it was reported, Expedia didn’t waste time to show off and its stock jumped 7.1% to $161.50, while poor Uber stumbled down 2.6% to $79.70 (This feels like when your crush finds out you like them and gets all awkward😂)

Apparently, Uber’s been cooking up a plan to create a “Super App” that would include travel booking through Expedia! It has been reported that Uber had approached advisors in recent months over a potential takeover, with the ride-hailing giant looking to build a “Super App” by incorporating Expedia.

But shhhh… *whispers* they haven’t spilled any details on how much they’d be willing to spend on this deal. Just know that Expedia’s market cap stands tall at a whopping $19.64 billion!

And if this deal goes through, it’ll be Uber’s biggest move yet!