Apr 30, 2020 - Economy & Business

Verizon says collaboration tools use up 1,200% during coronavirus

Verizon has seen a 1,200% spike in the use of online collaboration tools during the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Hans Vestberg said at an Axios event Thursday.

What he's saying: "I don't think we're going to see a normal situation by the end of the year. I think there's going to be a new enterprise. It's a new way to work."

The big picture: Vestberg said he does not think his entire workforce will return to the office by the end of the year.

He said people are 35% less mobile than they were before they were urged to stay home, though that figure varies by geography. In upstate New York, for example, people are moving around 60% less in one of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus.

Go deeper: Verizon and T-Mobile battle over 5G at the Super Bowl

Editor's note: This story has been updated to show Vestberg was talking about collaboration tools in the headline and in the first sentence, and that the entire workforce would not return by the end of the year in "The big picture."

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Updates: George Floyd protests continue past curfews

Police officers wearing riot gear push back demonstrators outside of the White House on Monday. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Protests over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people continued Tuesday across the U.S. for the eighth consecutive day, prompting a federal response from the National Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

The latest: Even with early curfews in New York City and Washington, D.C., protesters are still out en masse. Some protesters in D.C. said they were galvanized by President Trump's photo op in front of St. John's Church on Monday and threat to deploy U.S. troops in the rest of country if violence isn't quelled, NBC News reports.

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Alayna Treene

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Trump backs off push to federalize forces against riots

Photo: Brendan Smialowski /AFP via Getty Images

A day after threatening to federalize forces to snuff out riots across the country, the president appears to be backing off the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, sources familiar with his plans tell Axios.

What we're hearing: Aides say he hasn’t ruled out its use at some point, but that he's “pleased” with the way protests were handled last night (apart from in New York City, as he indicated on Twitter today) — and that for now he's satisfied with leaving the crackdown to states through local law enforcement and the National Guard.

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Erica Pandey

1 hour ago - Economy & Business

What we expect from our bosses

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Workers — especially millennials and Gen Zers — are paying close attention to the words and actions of their employers during national crises, such as the protests following the killing of George Floyd in police custody.

Why it matters: American companies have an enormous amount of wealth and influence that they can put toward effecting change, and CEOs have the potential to fill the leadership vacuum left by government inaction. More and more rank-and-file employees expect their bosses to do something with that money and power.

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