Hello there and Happy Tuesday, I'm Emilia David, filling in for your regular host Diamond Naga Siu this week.
As an elder millennial living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, I often worry about money. I'm not alone in feeling uncertain about finances, either.
Insider's Juliana Kaplan explored how millennials and Gen Z found themselves financially scarred by the pandemic and how younger people got stuck in a cycle of spending, saving, and (of course) debt.
Talking about money is hard, especially since different generations have different ideas about when financial independence starts.
Unfortunately, we can't all be like the Roy kids of HBO's "Succession," who now have to figure out what to do with their billions of dollars. Oh great, I made myself sad about my wallet again.
Let's get started.
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1. The push to cut middle managers will backfire on tech. Companies like Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce embarked on cost-cutting efforts that "flattened" org charts by removing middle managers, starting a trend across Silicon Valley.
- Middle managers, or what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls "managers managing managers," saw their roles shrink in the past year as tech companies focus on "individual contributors," increasingly requiring managers to do coding work themselves.
- This all comes as several tech CEOs and prominent VCs complained about tech workers doing what they consider "fake work." But losing middle managers could also impact team morale and how employees look at their futures in the company.
- My teammate Paayal Zaveri details how the "flattening" trend may bring cost efficiencies in the short term, but will create more problems for organizations in the long run.
Find out why flattening an org chart may backfire.
In other news:
2. Welcome to Titter HQ. Twitter CEO Elon Musk painted over the W on Twitter's sign at its San Francisco headquarters, changing it to "Titter," in the latest move in Musk's feud with the building's landlord. Read more here.
3. The University of California lost hundreds of millions from investments. UC Investments, the investment arm of the public University of California, saw its returns from venture capital investments fall last year. Learn more here.
4. Read this before signing your severance agreement. Tech layoffs are still happening, so make sure you consider these five things before signing on the dotted line.
5. Elon Musk is moving forward with a new generative AI project at Twitter after purchasing thousands of GPUs. It comes despite Musk recently signing an open letter calling for an industry-wide halt to any AI training for several months. Read more here.
6. Police scanner reveals Bob Lee's 911 call. Cash App founder Bob Lee, who was fatally stabbed in San Francisco last week, reportedly called 911 for help in audio obtained from a recording of the police dispatcher. More on this story.
7. This OnlyFans star went from health worker to making more than $1 million on the app. OnlyFans creator Farrah detailed how she took advantage of the app's premium subscriptions to earn $1 million in just two years. Read more here.
8. Amazon salaries revealed. We've analyzed how much engineers, data scientists, and thousands of other employees were paid prior to recent layoffs. Take a look here.
Odds and ends:
9. Fyre Festival is the gift that keeps on giving. Billy McFarland, creator of the disastrous island getaway that inspired a thousand memes, wants to know why you should get an invite to Fyre Festival part two.
10. Best Apple Watch screen protectors. Have an Apple Watch? Protect it with these top screen protectors, selected by Insider's Reviews team.
What we're watching today:
- The Startup Grind conference starts today with speakers from Khosla Ventures, Substack and Plaid.
- It's Be Kind to Lawyers Day. Make sure you sign all relevant documents and smile at a lawyer today.
Curated by Emilia David in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email edavid@insider.com or tweet @miyadavid.) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.