Here are the most relevant news in tech and retail this week.
In tech:
- Microsoft announces 18,000 layoffs within the next year or 14% of its work force mostly related to its Nokia acquisition
- Apple and IBM partner up to develop more than 100 enterprise apps running on iOS devices
- Google’s Chief Business Officer leaves for Japan’s SoftBank Corp; quarterly revenues beat analysts’ estimates but earnings per share disappoint; and introduces Google Imagery for businesses integrating Google Earth Data with Maps
- Facebook launches new iOS app Mentions for “celebrities”; testing a “Buy” button within ads and Facebook Page posts
- Twitter acquires CardSpring, a payment infrastructure startup to help drive in-tweet purchases
In retail:
- Amazon launches Kindle Unlimited, an ebook and audiobook subscription for $9.99/month; customers have access to more than 600,000 ebooks
- China’s e-commerce giant, soon to IPO in the NYSE, Alibaba teams up with Correios, Brazil’s state-owned postal services company
- China’s JD.com relaunches PaiPai marketplace to compete against Alibaba’s Taobao
- Marc Jacobs has a new CEO: Sebastian Suhl, current chief exec of Givenchy
- Tory Burch enters the wearable market by partnering with Fitbit
