European Space Firms Ally To Compete With Starlink - 1

Photo by Evgeny Opanasenko on Unsplash

European Space Firms Ally To Compete With Starlink

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

The European space companies Leonardo, Airbus, and Thales, are planning a new venture together code-named Project Bromo to compete with Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet company.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Leonardo, Airbus, and Thales are planning on building a new satellite company together
  • The venture has been nicknamed Project Bromo and the European companies expect to increase its presence in low Earth orbit and compete with Starlink
  • The space firms would combine forces and technologies but have to deal with layoffs and restructuring

According to Reuters , three sources familiar with the matter have confirmed the information and explained that the new satellite initiative expects to establish a major base in Europe, combining talents and technologies as they are considering using the British BAE and the Italian Leonardo’s systems, and MBDA—a European multinational corporation—as the manufacturer.

Project Bromo—a nickname chosen after an Indonesian volcano—is still at an early stage and the companies have only been exploring the possibility of joining forces and gaining space and influence in low Earth orbit, where Starlink has dominance.

Roberto Cingolani, Leonardo’s CEO, confirmed to Reuters that multiple technical discussions are on the table.

There’s also a tense situation within companies’ internal organizations as merging could imply more job cuts and a few firms have already announced large layoffs. By 2026 Airbus would cut around 2,500 jobs, and Thales is in discussions to let go 1,300 of its workers.

This new initiative could be a solution for Europe’s slow and dim participation in the current space race . In October, ESA’s chief Josef Aschbache urged European organizations to “raise its ambition” in the space industry as other regions are taking the lead and growing fast.

However, this week the United Nations also called for global cooperation and warned about traffic congestion in low Earth Orbit and its risks of possible collisions and communication disruptions.

Employees Accuse Apple Of Spying And Silencing Workers - 2

Photo by Denis Cherkashin on Unsplash

Employees Accuse Apple Of Spying And Silencing Workers

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

An Apple worker accused the company of spying, monitoring employees, and forbidding them to share working conditions in a lawsuit filed this Sunday.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Apple employee filed a lawsuit in California accusing the company of spying and forbidding workers to share information about work conditions
  • The company has defended itself and disagrees with the claims
  • Two female workers filed a lawsuit against the tech giant earlier this year for underpaying women

According to Reuters , Amar Bhakta, who has worked in digital advertising for Apple since 2020, filed the complaint in California and provided more details of how the company operates to monitor its employees.

The lawsuit states that workers are required to download software—even on their own personal devices, not just their work devices—and the company gets to monitor and access all applications and personal information including photo libraries, health apps, emails, smart home data, and more.

Bhakta also included that the tech giant forbids employees to share information on working conditions and that he has been forced to take down information from his LinkedIn account and was forbidden to speak about digital advertising on podcasts.

“Apple’s surveillance policies and practices chill, and thus also unlawfully restrain, employee whistleblowing, competition, freedom of employee movement in the job market, and freedom of speech,” states the lawsuit as reported by Reuters.

Apple said in a statement that their workers have the right to discuss working conditions every year and that Bhakta’s case has no merit.

The lawyers behind Bhakta’s case are also working with two other Apple employees who filed a lawsuit earlier this year accusing the company of underpaying female workers .

Multiple tech giants have been dealing with workers’ complaints and actions these past few days. ByteDance recently sued an intern for $1.1 billion in damages from an AI breach, and Kenyan workers accused American tech companies of exploitation for AI training.