Amazon: Tech giant to lay off 17,000 staff but boss Jassy remains confident January 5, 2023 Amazon layoffs will now increase to more than 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously disclosed, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a public staff note on Wednesday. The layoff decisions, which Amazon will communicate starting Jan. 18, will largely impact the company’s e-commerce and human-resources organizations, he said. The cuts amount [...]
Greggs: Baker on a sausage roll as it plots further expansion across UK January 5, 2023 Greggs has said it is on track for 150 net new stores this year as its value-proposition protects it from a wider consumer down-turn. In a fourth quarter trading update, the sausage-roll seller said its sales stood at £1.5bn, as the firm bounced back after experiencing pandemic-related disruption last Christmas. Sales had surged 23 per [...]
Next: Prices to rise in the spring – but boss hopeful inflation will ease in second half January 5, 2023 Next has warned it will lift prices further in the spring as the retailer’s chief said he was optimistic that inflation would let up in the second-half of the year. The fashion firm hiked its full-year profit guidance after seeing better than expected sales over the Christmas shopping period. The high street staple lifted its [...]
Maths to 18: Sunak’s “personal” mission to boost the nation’s numeracy – but Labour tell him to “show his working” January 4, 2023 The Prime Minister will set out his plan to ensure all pupils in England study some form of maths until aged 18 in his first speech of 2023. On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak will lay out his priorities and ambitions for the year ahead, which will include a new mission to combat high rates of innumeracy [...]
Euro on course for worst day since September in poor start to 2023 January 3, 2023 The euro has kicked off 2023 poorly, with investors ditching the common currency and flooding back into the US dollar. The currency used by the now 20 countries that make up the eurozone after Croatia joined the union earlier this month was on track for its steepest drop against the greenback since September last year [...]
Musk miss: Tesla’s latest update leaves investors with yet more questions January 3, 2023 Tesla has missed analyst estimates as it delivered only 405,000 cars in the fourth quarter of 2022 – significantly fewer than Tesla-watchers were expecting. Wall Street had hoped for the number to be above 430,000. The miss is the latest cloud hanging over the firm’s controversial founder Elon Musk, with the firm’s 40 per cent [...]
Dry January: Pub bosses call on Brits to do their duty and get down the local – even if it’s for non-alcoholic beers January 3, 2023 Publicans have issued a rallying cry for punters to continue to back their local boozer this month as the industry battles an economic downturn – despite the growing trend for a ‘dry January‘ month off the sauce. The sector has struggled with sky-high energy bills all while consumers’ feel the pinch of household bills increasing [...]
What’s in a year? Hopefully one without a new prime minister or an election January 3, 2023 Without making myself a hostage to fortune, I predict 2023 will be a year without as much political turmoil even as inflation causes havoc.
Work and pensions minister quits for ‘personal reasons’ January 1, 2023 Work and pensions minister Baroness Stedman-Scott has stepped down for “personal reasons”, Downing Street has said. Lady Stedman-Scott, 67, has been a minister in the department since 2019, having previously been a Government whip in the House of Lords. She is replaced by Viscount Younger of Leckie, who moves from the whips’ office where he [...]
New Year: Eight arrests as revellers rush stewards to ‘force’ way into fireworks January 1, 2023 Eight people were arrested during New Year’s Eve fireworks in central London, after celebrations turned sour with revellers trying to “force” their way into the sold-out event. In its first return since the pandemic, thousands of tickets were sold to watch midnight fireworks, but trouble started about an hour before 2023 was welcomed. Fireworks also [...]