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- More than 900,000 L.A. County Residents Jobless as Local Unemployment Hits 20%
- Why Smaller Venture Funds are in Danger as the COVID-19 Pandemic Churns on
More than 900,000 L.A. County Residents Jobless as Local Unemployment Hits 20%
The unemployment rate in Los Angeles County hit near 20% last month, a staggering figure that put into question the ability of the region to bounce back from the pandemic-induced economic free fall.
More than 900,000 Los Angeles County residents didn't have a job in April as the prolonged stay-at-home order closed retail shops, stopped factory lines and halted Hollywood. The downturn is the largest on record in California.
"We are dealing with Depression Era unemployment," Gov. Gavin Newsom who is facing a $54 billion state deficit told PBS News Hour. "The numbers that come out publicly are lagging. And the reality is that we are north of 25% (unemployment) in California."
California is looking to stem the economic devastation as it pushes to reopen the economy. On Monday, Newsom is expected to outline plans to restart film and television production, although it's unclear if it will resume in Los Angeles. It comes as local stores have reopened for curbside pick-up and traffic along freeways has begun to pick up.
Statewide unemployment for April was 15.5%, according to employment data taken from a federal sample survey of households that provides a more complete picture of job loss by also including individuals that may not have filed unemployment claims. In the county, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 19.6%.
According to the figures - seasonally adjusted - about 931,000 people in Los Angeles County were without a job in April, upending the state's previous low unemployment.
Not one industry reported job gains during the month. Among the hardest hit sectors were retail, restaurants, tourism and manufacturing, according to a second survey of 145,000 California businesses that gives a further breakdown of how the devastation has played out in each industry from tourism to retail to finance.
Leisure and hospitality, like restaurants and amusement parks, accounted for more than a quarter of the county-wide job losses with employment down 38 percent from the previous month.
Why Smaller Venture Funds are in Danger as the COVID-19 Pandemic Churns on
via Pitchbook
Big venture capital funds are continuing to close with success while smaller ones — of which there are many in Los Angeles — are having more difficulty, according to a new research report from Pitchbook.
"Across private market strategies, this will push the balance even further toward the mega-funds that have been garnering such a large proportion of LP commitment dollars," wrote senior analyst Hilary Wiek. "Funds that have had a first closing and begun investing may have a difficult time with further fundraising if future investors are expected to buy in at cost on investments that now need to be written down. LPs appear to be pondering their commitment pacing this year, with many choosing to slow the pace at least somewhat."
Pitchbook says many LPs are holding quarterly meetings this month with their investment committees to discuss future allocations. So far at least, few LPs have defaulted but they have slowed down in their commitments. -Ben Bergman
- Venture Capital Reports See Tough Times Ahead For Startups - dot.LA ›
- The Fund Launches a Venture Capital Firm in Los Angeles - dot.LA ›
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Bird Is Laying Off 23% of Its Staff
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Samson is also a proud member of the Transgender Journalists Association. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him
Santa Monica-based electric scooter firm Bird is laying off 23% of its staff in an effort to cut costs.
A Bird spokesperson confirmed the layoffs in an emailed statement to dot.LA—noting that "while the need for and access to micro-electric vehicle transportation has never been greater, macroeconomic trends impacting everyone have resulted in an acceleration of our path to profitability."
"This path required us to reduce our cost structure in a way that allows us to responsibly and sustainably expand our service beyond the more than 400 cities we operate in today as climate action has never been more paramount," the spokesperson added. "In addition to eliminating all non-critical third-party spend, we also unfortunately had to depart with a number of team members who passionately helped create a new industry and paved the way for more eco-friendly transportation."
A number of Bird employees posted online about the layoffs earlier on Tuesday. One former employee named Angelica Gomez said on LinkedIn that she was "one of the employees affected by layoffs at Bird" and is now looking for a new job. Gomez worked as a data analyst at Bird for just under two years. Gomez’s boss, a former senior data analytics manager for Bird named Bryce Miller, also posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn, having also been let go from the company.
One former Bird employee who was laid off, and requested to remain anonymous because he's looking for new work, confirmed to dot.LA that Bird leadership told employees that about 23% of the company would be fired. The former employee said that the company is still in the process of informing people that their positions have been cut.
"We knew right after [first quarter] earnings came out," the former employee told dot.LA. "The executives set up a company-wide meeting right after the earnings and mentioned they would do everything they could to cut third-party spend and that layoffs may happen."
The source added that he and other employees appreciated the transparency given Bird's previously disastrous handling of layoffs two years ago, when it fired over 400 people during a Zoom meeting that workers later said "felt like a 'Black Mirror' episode."
"I actually left my last job to come to Bird. It was a risk and, in my case, it didn’t end up well for me," the former employee said. "But Bird has been transparent with its employees and that they did the best they could, which everyone appreciates."
Bird cut positions across a variety of departments and regions as part of the layoffs. The company is offering all terminated employees a minimum of three weeks of severance, three months of healthcare coverage continuation and extended windows for workers to vest their stock options.
Bird has been tightening its belt since going public via a SPAC deal last November, with the company continuing to find it hard to turn a profit in the shared e-scooter business. In its first-quarter earnings report last month, Bird laid out plans to "accelerate its path to profitability" via $80 million in run-rate cost savings for the 2022 fiscal year.
Update, 4:30 p.m. PT, June 7: This article has been updated to include comment from Bird.
Have a tip? Email Samson@dot.la.
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Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Samson is also a proud member of the Transgender Journalists Association. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him
TikTok Introduces Its Answer to Snapchat’s Bitmojis
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
TikTok is the latest social media company to add avatars to its platform.
The Culver City-based video-sharing app announced on Tuesday that the feature, which is rolling out globally, will mimic users’ movements and expressions through the animated figures. Users can access their avatar through TikTok’s camera and build their own custom character based on a variety of templates. Personalization options include hairstyles, accessories, piercings and makeup.
In its announcement, TikTok said it would listen to creator feedback and its Creator Diversity Collective to ensure that the avatars—which feature a variety of skin tones, hair colors and hair textures—are inclusive. In the past, the company has been criticized for filters that alter people’s skin tones and do not work properly for people of color.
“Building inclusive features and experiences remains our priority, and we'll continue to listen to our community and look to creators for feedback at every step of its development,” TikTok said.
As the metaverse seeks to fill its immersive digital worlds with avatars, Los Angeles’ startup scene has given rise to new companies that have successfully raised money to create animated NFTs and digital representations of people.
Other social media platforms beat TikTok to the avatar craze; Meta introduced avatars into Instagram Stories earlier this year, while Apple has added Memojis to its messages. Snapchat has advanced its technology since launching Bitmojis in 2016, allowing users to incorporate their avatars into live-action comic strips and virtual concerts.
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
E3 Gaming Conference Will Return in 2023, Organizer Says
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Samson is also a proud member of the Transgender Journalists Association. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him
After three years without an in-person event, the annual E3 video gaming convention will finally return next year—though it remains to be seen whether it will come back to its usual home in Los Angeles.
In an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday, Electronic Software Association (ESA) president and CEO Stan Pierre-Louis said the conference organizer plans to stage E3 as an in-person expo in 2023. However, Pierre-Louis was not drawn on whether the event would return to Downtown’s Los Angeles Convention Center, where it has been held since 1995.
The ESA canceled this year’s E3 in March, after initially indicating in January that the 2022 expo would be an entirely remote, virtual event once again. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, last year’s event was online-only, while the 2020 conference was canceled entirely.
“We’re excited about coming back in 2023 with both a digital and an in-person event,” Pierre-Louis told the Post. “As much as we love these digital events, and as much as they reach people and we want that global reach, we also know that there’s a really strong desire for people to convene—to be able to connect in person and see each other and talk about what makes games great.”
After calling off this year’s expo, the ESA promised that E3 would return in 2023 with “a reinvigorated showcase”—but at the time, organizers couldn’t tell dot.LA at the time if future editions of the conference would be in-person or entirely remote.
The ESA did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding its future plans for the conference. No dates for the 2023 show have yet been announced.
Though June is usually when upwards of 65,000 gamers, industry executives and media members from around the globe descend on the L.A. Convention Center for E3, the expo has been conspicuous in its absence since 2019—costing the city’s economy tens of millions of dollars.
While many video game publishers have eschewed E3 in favor of their own showcase events in recent years——such as Nintendo Direct, the Xbox Showcase and Sony’s State of Play—Pierre-Louis said he thinks there’s room for big-box game publishers to continue their own events while also attending the E3 conference.
“I think what’s great about all this experimentation is that companies of all sizes are trying to figure out what works best to promote the product and the content that they are looking to share with consumers,” he told the Post. “I think there is a space for a physical show; I think there’s an importance of having digital reach. Combining those two, I think there is a critical element of what we think E3 can provide.”
Correction, June 7: This story has been corrected to reflect that ESA president and CEO Stan Pierre-Louis did not say whether the 2023 E3 convention will be returning to its usual home in Los Angeles.
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Samson is also a proud member of the Transgender Journalists Association. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him