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Hyundai Mobis Hosts Mobility Tech Conference in Detroit to Boost North American Outreach

This photo provided by Hyundai Mobis Co. shows an experts panel session held at the company’s Mobis Mobility Day event in Detroit on April 9, 2025. (Yonhap) SEOUL, April 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Mobis Co., the auto parts unit of Hyundai Motor Group, held an annual mobility tech show in the United States this…

H-1B crackdown could hit tech giants hard – especially Amazon

US giant Amazon logo.

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AFP

This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West.As US President Donald Trump sends mixed signals on the H-1B visa programme, Amazon could find itself in a tight spot.The $2 trillion tech giant has bagged the most H-1B visa approvals each year since 2020, according to data from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The USCIS data includes newly issued visas and renewals. The H-1B visa allows highly skilled foreign workers to live and work in the US for up to six years, after which they can apply for a green card and be eligible to become naturalised citizens.In 2024, Amazon Com Services obtained at least 9,265 H-1B visas. Many of its subsidiaries, such as Amazon Web Services and Amazon Development Center, also obtained visas in this category.US tech giants have become increasingly dependent on H-1B visas as they “have grown exponentially over these past few years, and they’ve added many more verticals … so they need more IT people for that,” Poorvi Chothani, founder of Mumbai-based global immigration law firm LawQuest, told Rest of World.The Trump administration is split on the visa programme, with key figures like the president’s homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, pushing for severe restrictions. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as an informal adviser to Trump, has advocated for its preservation.Trump has shifted his position on the visa in the past. In 2016, he vowed to “end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labour programme”. In late 2024, however, he said, “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. … It’s a great program.”On January 17, the Department of Homeland Security introduced a slew of measures to tighten the H-1B protocol – the most notable of which requires employers to submit more evidence for proof of control over foreign employees to mitigate alleged misuse of the program. The department also increased the non-refundable fee per entry to $215 from $10 during this year’s filing cycle.USCIS has set the annual cap for new H-1B visas at 85,000, distributing them through a lottery system. More than two-thirds of the visas go to tech workers each year. Indian tech workers typically secure more than 70% of H-1B visas.“The demand for these visas is still there and companies are just rolling with the changes. They are also filing additional paperwork and providing enhanced information in the H-1B petitions to mitigate the risk of denials,” Chothani said.For most of the 2000s, Indian IT companies dominated the H-1B visa programme, securing thousands of approvals. By 2024, the balance had shifted: Five US tech giants – Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple – were among the top 10 companies to get the H-1B.Over the years, Democrats and Republicans have both proposed tightening the programme to save American workers from being “ignored or unfairly disadvantaged”.Ananya Bhattacharya is a reporter for Rest of World covering South Asia’s tech scene. She is based in Mumbai, India.This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West.

One Tech Tip: Protecting your device privacy when crossing borders

LONDON (AP) — Planning an international trip? Travelers should prepare for the possibility of extra scrutiny of their phones when crossing borders, especially when entering the United States.The Canadian government warned travelers in a recent travel advisory that U.S. border agents are entitled to search your electronic devices and “don’t need to provide a reason when requesting a password to open your device.”Some recent cases have made travelers nervous about their privacy, such as when a Brown University professor with a U.S. visa was deported to Lebanon after border agents found a photo of Hezbollah’s leader on her phone.“While 100% privacy may be impossible in these situations, there are a few things you can easily do that make it much harder for someone to see your private data even with physical access to your device,” said Patricia Egger, head of security at encrypted service Proton Mail.Here are tips on protecting your device privacy while travelling:

What should I do before I set off?Experts say the best strategy is to reduce the amount of information you’re carrying while traveling.If possible, leave your phone at home. If you need one on your trip, borrow a tactic used by corporate executives looking to avoid hackers: get a temporary or “burner” device. It can contain just the information you need for your trip. Download anything else from the cloud when you need it.If you have to bring your phone or laptop, upload sensitive information to a cloud storage service that uses end-to-end encryption, then delete the originals from your device.

Also, encrypt your phone or laptop’s storage drive and protect it with a strong password. Be aware this is different from merely having a device passcode lock, which is more easily cracked, or the end-to-end encryption on your favorite communication platforms.Turn off fingerprint or facial recognition features and use the PIN or passcode instead.

What kind of search will be done at borders?There are two kinds of searches, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. In a basic search, an officer scrolls through your phone’s photos, emails, apps and files. No suspicion of wrongdoing is needed to conduct this type of search.In an advanced search, the contents of your device could be copied for analysis. But a senior manager needs to sign off and there needs to be “reasonable suspicion” of a legal violation, except if there’s any concern for national security, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).Who’s at risk of getting searched and what are they looking for?“It’s hard to say,” says Sophia Cope, senior staff attorney at the EFF, which offers an extensive online guide to border privacy. Warrants are not needed to inspect devices belonging to anyone entering the country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents carried out a total of more than 47,000 electronic device searches last year, up tenfold from a decade ago.Basic searches “can be for no reason at all, totally random, or based on a mere hunch about someone – maybe based on how they look or an answer they gave to a preliminary question,” said Cope.Travel history can also be relevant, for example, if a traveler originates from someplace where terrorism, drug trafficking, or child sex tourism is common, she said. Border agents can also search devices “at the behest” of other agencies like the FBI or if they’re associated with someone else of interest, such as a journalist’s source, a business associate or a family member.

What should I do when I get to the border?Best to power off your devices when you touch down.Under current policy, U.S. border agents are only allowed to look at information stored on the device, and not anything that’s kept in the cloud. So if you have to leave your phone on, make sure it’s kept in airplane mode or otherwise disconnected from the internet by Wi-Fi or cellular data.“Before crossing the border, put your device in airplane mode to ensure remote files don’t get downloaded accidentally,” the Canadian government warns.But keep in mind there might be cached data that still remains on your phone, such as files in the trash that haven’t been emptied.

What if I refuse?American citizens can’t be denied entry to the United States for refusing to consent to device searches. The same should apply to lawful permanent residents such as green card holders, the American Civil Liberties Union says.But agents can make things difficult if they’re refused. Travelers could be questioned, detained temporarily or have their devices seized and not returned for days or even weeks, rights groups say.Foreign travelers could be turned back if they say no.If you’re forced to unlock your device, Egger advises that “where you can, log in yourself rather than divulging any PINs or passwords, and if forced to share passwords, change them as soon as you can.”Experts say the reason you should not use your device’s fingerprint or facial recognition feature is that it’s easier to compel you to unlock your device with biometrics. A border agent could simply hold your phone up to your face or force you to press your finger onto your device. There are also fears that police could use fingerprints stored on government databases.

Powering off your devices is another way to protect against sophisticated attacks in case you don’t consent to a search.Most modern phones and some laptops encrypt their data using a strong cryptographic keys only accessible when the user unlocks it with the passcode, said Will Greenberg, the EFF’s senior staff technologist. If the device is locked but not turned off, the key remains loaded on the device’s memory. Powerful hacking tools made by companies like Cellebrite can recover the key and decipher the data.But if the device is off, the key is unloaded and can’t be accessed until it’s turned on again and unlocked with the passcode.“This is why a border agent can’t simply turn a device on to use a tool like Cellebrite,” Greenberg said.What about social media?To be on the safe side, delete your social media apps and reinstall them later. Even though content is mainly stored on a social media company’s servers, Cope says some posts or images might remain on your phone’s memory cache and therefore viewable even in airplane mode.What else can be searched?It’s not just phones and laptops. Digital cameras, smartwatches, tablets, external hard drives and other electronic devices can be searched.What not to do?Some tactics might backfire. If you’re tempted to completely wipe your phone or laptop hard drive before you travel, experts warn it could raise scrutiny.“If detected by a border agent, the fact that you wiped your hard drive may prompt the agent to ask why you did so,” the EFF’s guide says. “Even traveling without devices or data that most travelers typically have could attract suspicion and questions.”Also don’t try to hide information on your device, because border agents could find out, the group says. “Lying to border agents can be a serious crime, and the agents may take a very broad view of what constitutes lying,” it says.What about other destinations?Check local laws of your destination before you travel. For example, Britain’s counterterrorism law allows police to demand that people passing through the country’s border hand over devices along with passwords and PINs. If they refuse, they can be charged with terrorism.___Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip.

A Pressure on Silicon Valley: Is the U.S. Ready for a Shift in Tech Dominance?

Development & Aid, Economy & Trade, Financial Crisis, Global, Headlines, Labour, TerraViva United Nations, Trade & Investment Opinion

A close-up of Scrabble tiles spelling the word China. Credit: Markus Winkler / UnsplashNEW YORK, Apr 10 2025 (IPS) – While the U.S. argues over tariffs, China, Japan, and South Korea are quietly reshaping their tech markets, shifting towards regional dominance – signaling a potential turning point in global tech leadership.
Since 2012, substantial progress on a trilateral free trade agreement between China, South Korea, and Japan has been at a standstill – but amidst new U.S. tariffs, the situation is beginning to evolve. April 2nd marked “Liberation Day” – a promise from the U.S. to the rest of the world that tariffs were coming, upsetting ASEAN allies and creating an opening for new players in the valley.
South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun remarks: “It is necessary to strengthen the implementation of RCEP, in which all three countries have participated, and to create a framework for expanding trade cooperation among the three countries through Korea-China-Japan FTA negotiations.”
Picking a battle with these countries means upsetting trade with the U.S’s 3rd, 6th, and 7th largest partners, accounting for a large part of U.S. global trade. But this really isn’t the problem.
The United States hosts Silicon Valley, the largest capital network of tech companies and startups on the globe. Corporations like the “Magnificent Seven”: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla dominate the tech market, attracting substantial investments. For this reason, this culture of success attracts venture capitalists who are willing to take risks due to the association with positive capital investment, but this could change.
A group of people standing on top of a hill. Credit: Ran Liwen / Unsplash
These companies stay in the U.S. because, at least for now, it’s a good deal, and their markets within the U.S. are enormous. However, with tariffs on China, South Korea, and Japan, semiconductors, microchips, automobiles, and parts are exceedingly expensive. These are all components essential in the tech industry, meaning looming rising costs can lead to a shift in balance.
This creates an opening for China, South Korea, and Japan to invest in their markets. The combination of a free trade agreement and proximity to each other could have drastic changes in market trends, as none of these countries has to go a large distance in order to import or export their supplies, potentially transforming global market trends.
Distances between regional trade ports:Shanghai → Busan: Approx. 530 km (330 miles)Busan → Fukuoka: Approx. 180 km (110 miles)Shanghai → Fukuoka: Approx. 870 km (540 miles)
Distance between U.S. trade ports:Shanghai → Seattle: Approx. 5,400 km (3,350 miles)Busan → Seattle: Approx. 7,960 km (4,950 miles)Fukuoka → Seattle: Approx. 8,160 km (5,070 miles)Fukuoka → Los Angeles: Approx. 8,640 km (5,370 miles)Shanghai → Los Angeles: Approx. 10,900 km (6,770 miles)Busan → Los Angeles: Approx. 9,960 km (6,190 miles)
Expanded RCEP capabilities:
Regional expansion results in products becoming cheaper, shipping becoming easier, and job growth accelerating, creating a trickle-down from this regional investment in trade to their other markets.
While trade only accounts for less than 25% of the U.S. GDP, this affects a lot. With less foreign investment into U.S. tech markets, possibly Silicon Valley could relocate to East Asia, as their factories are there, and an even bigger consumer base awaits. While wealthy companies could try to set up factories within the U.S. to compete with East Asian manufacturing, this could be really difficult, and take a long time, as U.S. infrastructure is not prepared for the logistics of refining, processing, and supply chain operations on a large scale. The CHIPS Act, aiming to boost semiconductor production domestically, represents the U.S.’s largest attempt to catch up to East Asia in this sector, but it’s going to take loads of time.
Global Trade War Implications:
The U.S. has slapped tariffs on nearly every country, creating the opportunity for supply and demand shifts in many sectors, not only tech. While called “reciprocal” in nature, these tariffs are not reciprocal, instead actually accounting for a “trade deficit”, as Alan Cole from the Tax Foundation details, “The alleged tariff rate from each trading partner is fully a function of trade aggregates, specifically, the deficit divided by US imports, with a minimum of 10 percent. No factors discussed by the administration in these documents or anywhere else (like tariffs, digital services taxes, value-added taxes, or monetary policy) play any role.” – additionally, the WTO found these measures in violation of trade rules, making them not only non-reciprocal, but also incompatible with international trade law.
Since Friday, April 4th, South Korea’s KOSPI Index has fallen 4.27%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index by 4.42%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index has risen by 2.91%, with the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all down by about 2%. While there have been some minimal rebounds, the overall trend points to a steady decline amid ongoing market sell-offs.
Trade talks with Japan and South Korea have been scheduled with the U.S., while China refuses to back down in the slightest, slapping an additional 50% tariffs totaling 84% starting Thursday, April 10th, after Trump’s 104% levy goes into effect Wednesday, April 9th.
China’s retaliatory tactics have seemed to push back, creating an unstable and unpredictable market space, with Japan and South Korea’s indexes trending downwards. These numbers, scheduled talks, and policy choices by China signal strong shifts in reprisal to U.S. tariffs, further outlining a motive for a strategic shift that could move Silicon Valley from the U.S. to East Asia.
The world now watches to see if countries will continue investing in Silicon Valley following this global trade war, with already 50 countries reaching out to the Trump Administration for negotiations. The U.S. and China are battling it out, trade war style, each vying to see who rises from the ashes, and who sits below the mound. The outcome of this war will determine which nation solidifies its position as the global hyperpower. Determining whether the U.S. can maintain its dominance in the tech industry or if East Asia will seize this opportunity to lead in the next wave of innovation. The real question remains: is the U.S. prepared for that shift?
IPS UN Bureau

Five Takeaways with new Washington State University President Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell

Earlier this month, the Journal of Business hosted Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, new president of Washington State University, for its most recent Elevating The Conversation podcast.The Elevating The Conversation podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and elsewhere. Search for it on any of those platforms or the Journal’s website to hear the entire conversation, but for now, here are five takeaways—edited for space and clarity—from the episode, which runs just about 45 minutes.1. Higher education is in the midst of change. We are in the middle of this kind of interesting shift from all in-person modality, what I call butts in seats with a sage on the stage in front of you, to something different. We have a little bit of a sense of this, because the pandemic pushed us so quickly into online learning, but I think that’s still going to shift and change. Some things will be best delivered online. Some outcomes will still be best delivered with people. We have a lot of really interesting, almost experimental work to do to make sure that as technology changes things, we are doing the best we can for our students and the outcomes that they need to get.As we see social norms—and I’m talking really globally—change because of the availability of screens, people’s capacity to interact socially is different when they’re 17 years old today than it was 20 years ago. So, we absolutely have a role to play in not just transmitting knowledge. You could theoretically go online and do a little bit of cross checking to make sure what you’re learning is true and pick up facts. What you can’t pick up is how to operate in a world of human beings. And that I think we have an obligation to continue to provide that not just to 17 to 25 year olds, but to anybody that needs it. 2. Multi-campus approach is still best for WSU, but community insights could be beneficial. I do think it’s time for us to do what I think of as a design process, that involves the communities where we have campuses. We need to say, what are the needs going forward for the next 25 years? And are we set up to meet those needs? And if we’re not, how do we make some shifts to make sure that we will meet those needs? In a community that’s not the mothership campus, what are the job needs? What are the workforce needs? We are, as a land-grant university, really heavily focused on meeting workforce challenges.Our motherships focus on the national and global brand and reputation that we need to have. But it’s always useful when you have campuses that are not the main campus to ask, are we serving the community correctly and well?3. University research provides opportunities for broader community. I think it’s an enormous value economically to have research institutions.I call them research enterprises. In my mind, I think there’s a research enterprise that intersects substantially with the teaching and learning enterprise. Not just because the faculty do both, but because our students are immersed not just in classroom learning, but also in some version of a research project at some point.It’s not the same thing as doing an internship in a company, but it’s very similar in terms of the skillset that it delivers, especially with research programs now that are team based, learning team-based skills that we use in the normal workplace.I frankly think that we should be thinking that all of it can be spun out into private enterprises. It’s just that some of it takes 50 years to go from the ideas that we’re working on in the laboratory to a commercial product. And some of it can be spun out to our local communities in a year or two. A lot of those examples today are in the fields associated with social research, mental health research. Alzheimer’s research, health research—a lot of the kinds of things that go on at the medical campus here in Spokane, which are focused on delivery to the community fairly quickly. Cities like Spokane benefit economically from a research portfolio. I always say, though, don’t walk away from the stuff that’s 50 years away, because it really can become the lifeblood to a community like this, which in 50 years may be very different than it is today.4. WSU plans to reduce its budget by between 1% and 10%, and austerity measures are in place. The 1% to 10% range is really trying to position all of our business units, our academic units, our operating units, to have the thought process of what-if. What if it’s just 1%? What if it’s 10%? What are we gonna do, and how are we gonna do it? Probably more importantly, what are the most important things to bring up to the president that we need to protect? I don’t think we’re gonna end up at 10%, but we don’t exactly know. We know the state is having financial challenges. We don’t know what the budgets are gonna look like for the universities just yet.I think we’re marching down the path of somewhere between a 4% to 6% reduction. So this is really a managerial discussion, not a leadership discussion. I want all of my units to be able to tell me the variety of ways that they’re thinking about doing this, so together, we can make strategic choices. Some of the austerity measures that you’ve read about are just normal things you would do to slow down the expenditures, so we have a little bit of a moment to then do this strategic thinking. And we’re not constantly hair on fire. We’re also just beginning to go, okay, this is the moment we’re in. It’s not like, two, three, or four years ago. It’s a moment where we have to think about what we’re not gonna do, what’s extremely important to protect, and a very few new things that we will do.5. University president turnover has increased as the job has become more complex. The job of being president of good-sized universities is the most complicated leadership position in the country today. They’re more complicated than a lot of positions you can think of because, whether we like it or not, we bridge the social-political. We bridge the outcome of hard work, in terms of research. We bridge the care and the highest hopes of our young people. That landscape was simpler even 10 years ago than it is today. So it’s a little bit of, we get tired of death threats. But it’s really more that if you’re serious and you take every aspect of what you’re doing seriously, you’re trying to make sure that we are doing the right thing for our communities. We are building the right infrastructure. Eighty percent of our budget is human beings. How are we bringing them along in this kind of very rapidly shifting work environment? How do we really pay attention to the needs of our students? Those needs are not the same as they were a decade ago, because they are graduating into a very different work environment. It’s exhausting.I do think that the way that we can hold down the fort in these kinds of positions for longer is to do a little bit of rethinking of the position. My own approach is I am not the Imperial Queen. I ask for and genuinely need the grace of the entire community so that when it comes to difficult decisions, which happen daily, I have not only the information I need, but I have the emotional backing of the community. And I think asking for that, and to some extent maybe receiving that, makes it easier to stay in place for a long time.

Record Tech Layoffs: 27,000 Techies Fired By 100 Firms In 2025

The tech layoffs that happened this year have sparked the concerns among employees globally.

The fear has become real as described by some of industry leaders concerning the rising tariffs on the countries by the United States.

Tech Layoffs Affecting Thousands of Employees

So far, the tech layoffs in the country have affected thousands of employees from nearly a hundred companies in 2025.

This is triggered by multiple reasons including restructuring, adoption of AI and automation, shutting down business, or facing intense competition amid economic and global pressure.

In recent times, several new companies such as WordPress developer Automattic, Jack Dorsey’s Block and Siemens have announced massive job cuts caused by multiple reasons. 

It appears that the job cuts in 2025 in the technology sector affected 27,762 employees from 100 companies as mentioned by that layoffs tracking website, Layoffs.Fy.

Prior to this, 549 companies had laid off 152,472 employees from the tech sector last year .

The move was affected by the rising threat of Donald Trump tariffs, experts and leaders predicted that layoffs may be the only option to avoid high import taxes.

In recent times, the tech companies laid off employees from their workforce to address their problems in 2025.

Some Major Layoffs Across The Industry 

In order to improve its productivity, profit and investment capacity, WordPress developers laid off around 280 employees, cutting 16% from its workforce across various departments.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block is in news as he laid off 931 employees, reducing the workforce by 8% as a part of restructuring efforts.

Similarly, a Swedish battery making company, Northvolt laid off around 2,800 people from its workforce of 4,500 employees.

According to the company, it was performance-based job cuts.

The popular website Canva had cut 10 jobs and told its employees to use genAI tools as per the data displayed on Layoffs.Fyi website.

Similarly, the tech giant Siemens announced its plan to lay off nearly 5,600 employees in its automation and EV charging business.

The list doesn’t end there as there are many others including Palantir, Brightcove, HelloFresh who laid off hundreds of employees.

Apart from these there are others which are expected to lay off more employees as part of restructuring, competition, artificial intelligence, automation or high tariffs. 

The leading provider of mortgage financing in the U.S., Fannie Mae Lays Off 200 Telugu Employees for Misuse of ‘Matching Grants Programme’, affecting 700 employees.

This would also affect the Indian industry as they are predicting to cut the jobs as they could not afford 26% high taxes Amid Donald Trump Tariffs rise.

The experts are predicting that the industry may go through the biggest layoffs round. 

In the meantime, the Indian government will be talking on the subject of lowering tariffs.

Global DLIF XLIF Implants Market Sees Growth Amid Rising Spinal Disorders and Technological Innovations

Global DLIF XLIF Implants Market Sees Growth Amid Rising Spinal Disorders and Technological Innovations – Technology Today – EIN Presswire

Nvidia gets off cheap from Trump tariffs on tech

While many technology companies have been crushed under the US president’s new tariff policy, the chip giant is managing to avoid the blow; that’s because thanks to production in Mexico and an old trade agreement, the company’s AI servers enjoy protection; But the American consumer – and perhaps also the Israeli one – may still pay the priceRaphael Kahn|