Silicon Valley Daily | some Amazon employees will get sharper pay increases; Peloton's new CEO has denied selling the company

1. Some Amazon employees are about to receive a considerable increase in compensation. According to salary data obtained by Insider, some of Amazon's salaried U.S. employees will see a 10 to 30 percent increase in their salaries in April.

The raise is part of the business giant's efforts to retain employees by raising pay, just a week after the company announced it would raise its top base salary from $160,000 to $350,000.

— These increases underscore how much pressure the tech giant, known for being frugal, is under pressure to curb employee dissatisfaction with pay.

Amazon's hourly workers, including nearly 800,000 U.S. warehouse workers, were excluded from the new compensation plan, as were employees of businesses rated "least effective" by the company's performance review system.

2. A former Peloton employee describes his own experience of being fired. After more than a year as a field operations specialist at Peloton, the employee was laid off, and he was one of 2,800 employees who were laid off by Peloton. Over the past year, he has seen fewer and fewer users join Peloton, so he has some psychological preparation for the layoffs.

3. Startups are working to reduce users' screen time and redefine their relationship with social media. Phone usage spiked last year, with the typical Android user spending 4 hours a day on their phones, but startups like Blloc and Kin are fighting back against tech's choke on attention.

4. Amazon is canceling paid COVID-19 vacations for unvaccinated workers. In a memo to employees, Amazon announced that from March 18, unvaccinated employees will not be eligible for paid time off if they fall ill.

5. Salesforce says it will tie executive compensation to diversity and inclusion goals. The company's ability to hire, retain and promote employees from underrepresented groups will determine the compensation of its top leaders, including co-CEOs Mark Benioff and Brett Taylor.

6. ICYMI: Automotive companies use Super Bowl ads to convince viewers to use electric vehicles. Automakers such as BMW, General Motors and Kia have invested heavily in advertising, inviting celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eugene Levy to promote their latest electric models.

7. Peloton's new CEO denies selling the company. Barry McCarthy, the new CEO of Peloton, an interactive fitness platform in the United States, today refuted the claim that Peloton may be listed for sale. McCarthy is committed to pursuing business growth by adding content, expanding into new markets, and increasing its product portfolio.

8. Coinbase kicked off the Super Bowl ad war with an instant viral ad. The cryptocurrency exchange is a far cry from other high-budget ads in that it simply shows a multi-colored QR code that jumps across the screen, like the screensaver logo of a DVD player.

9. Ford has just released the Bronco Everglades for its new car. The $54,495 SUV has a built-in snorkel and was built to handle thick mud, treacherous swamps and off-road terrain.

10. There is no age discrimination in BM's Chief Human Resources Officer. IBM's chief human resources officer said there is no age discrimination at IBM. Previously, according to media reports, IBM was accused of being ageist, calling old employees "dinosaurs" and seeking to "exterminate" them.