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European Edition
7th March 2025
 
THE HOT STORY
Thyssenkrupp to cut 1,800 jobs
Thyssenkrupp has announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,800 jobs due to ongoing challenges in the automotive sector. The company cited "persistently challenging market conditions in the global automotive industry" as a key factor for the decision. Board member Volkmar Dinstuhl, responsible for the automotive division, said: "Production volumes continue to lag behind historical lows," highlighting the uncertainty caused by discussions on US tariffs. In addition to job cuts, Thyssenkrupp will freeze hiring and reduce investments, aiming to save over €150m ($162m) in response to declining sales volumes.
STRATEGY
PostNord to end letter deliveries
PostNord Denmark has announced it will cease collecting and delivering letters at the start of 2026, in a move that will see 1,500 employees lose their jobs. The decision follows years of declining letter volumes and financial challenges. The company will continue its letter delivery operations throughout 2025, but after the New Year, it will no longer be "economically sustainable" to send letters.
Mercedes-Benz outlines further cost-cutting measures
Mercedes-Benz's works council has authorised offering buy-outs to staff and reducing planned salary increases as the carmaker continues to cut costs. The moves come after finance chief Harald Wilhelm told the firm's annual results conference in January that departments from finance and human resources to procurement would be outsourced as it seeks to reduce the size of the workforce by agreeing voluntary redundancies and by not replacing staff who retire.
Lloyds shifts skilled IT jobs from UK to India
Lloyds Banking Group is hiring hundreds of IT engineers in India, to be based in a tech centre in Hyderabad, while planning to cut hundreds of similar jobs in the UK.
WORKFORCE
Carris workers in Lisbon reschedule strike date
Carris workers in Lisbon have postponed their planned 24-hour strike from March 11 to March 18, following management's claim that the advance notice was illegal. The Union of Workers in Road and Urban Transport of Portugal (STRUP Fectrans) stated that the Board of Directors argued that Carnival day should not be counted as a working day. STRUP decided to withdraw the initial strike notice to focus on uniting workers for a more significant protest. The union is advocating for a substantial wage increase, improved meal vouchers, and compensation for transit workers. STRUP's proposal includes a €90 salary increase effective from January and an interim €30 increase from July, along with a meal allowance rise to €12.50. STRUP emphasised that it is "completely unacceptable" for the Board to maintain the 'excellence award' instead of increasing salaries.
Healthcare workers strike for better pay
On Thursday, healthcare workers at over 200 facilities in Germany participated in a single-day "warning strike." The action coincided with ongoing contract negotiations between the Verdi trade union and government representatives, affecting approximately 2.5m public workers. The union is advocating for an 8% pay increase, enhanced bonuses, and more paid vacation. However, the VKA municipal employers' associations have deemed these demands unaffordable, warning of an 11% cost increase for municipalities, equating to an annual loss of €15bn.
CORPORATE
ICA Gruppen sells Baltic business in $1.4bn deal
Swedish grocery retailer ICA Gruppen is selling its Rimi Baltic business, which operates in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, to Salling Group, Denmark's biggest supermarket operator, in a deal worth €1.3bn. "The transaction will release funds, that will enable continued investments in and allocations of resources to the Swedish business to strengthen and broaden the customer offerings in our core Swedish market", the Swedish firm explained.
WORKPLACE
Bad meetings can lead to 'productivity hangovers'
New research from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte suggests that over 90% of employees experience "meeting hangovers" - lingering frustrations and distractions that follow unproductive meetings. Steven Rogelberg, a management professor and author of "The Surprising Science of Meetings," explains: "A meeting hangover is the idea that when we have a bad meeting, we just don't leave it at the door." These negative experiences can spread across teams and lead to decreased productivity. Factors contributing to bad meetings include unclear agendas and poor facilitation. To improve meetings, Rogelberg suggests keeping attendee lists small and framing agendas as questions to be answered. He emphasizes that if no questions arise, a meeting may not be necessary. Engaging in problem-focused conversations can also help mitigate the effects of a bad meeting.
ECONOMY
ECB cuts rates again
The European Central Bank (ECB) has cut rates for the sixth time in nine months, reducing its main interest rate to 2.5% from 2.75%. With inflation getting closer to its 2% target, the ECB said its interest rate cuts were "making new borrowing less expensive for firms and households." The Bank expects the eurozone economy to expand by 0.9% in 2025, with this only slightly above the 0.7% recorded in 2024.
INTERNATIONAL
Boeing needs to change its insular culture, CEO says
Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg has said the company needs a more open culture where staff are encouraged to speak up and communicate across divisions, according to a transcript of a meeting seen by Reuters. "We're very insular" and "we don't communicate across boundaries," Ortberg said in the webcast from St. Louis, Missouri, the headquarters of Boeing's defense and space division, adding that the company's teams "don't work with each other as well as we could . . . And the power of the Boeing Company is in us all kind of rowing the boat together." He said cultural change would boost morale, and "the results will show in the marketplace."
Founder of Palo Alto Networks warns of tech exodus from Israel
Nir Zuk, the founder of Palo Alto Networks, the cybersecurity giant valued at $125bn, has expressed concerns over a potential exodus of tech talent from Israel amid ongoing war and political instability. He has observed a troubling trend of senior executives seeking opportunities abroad, which he says could threaten Israel's tech landscape. Zuk, who has expanded his ventures beyond cybersecurity, launching a digital bank named Esh and an airline called Air Haifa, believes that while artificial intelligence is transforming industries, "humans are still better" in creative roles.
 


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