THE HOT STORY

Permanent hiring in UK hit by higher costs

Permanent hiring in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in 10 months, according to research by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Permanent hiring came in at 44.1 in May, the lowest figure since July last year, on an index where a reading below 50 signals contraction. The report shows that companies are increasingly opting for temporary workers due to low confidence in the economy, with the conflict in the Middle East pushing up inflation. Shop worker roles have been particularly affected, with high street businesses hit by higher minimum wage costs, taxes and energy bills. Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: "The clearest story in the economy right now is momentum being held up by uncertainty." Jon Holt, group chief executive and UK senior partner at KPMG, said: "Ongoing global and domestic uncertainty is making businesses more cautious, and that is increasingly reflected in hiring decisions."

Financial Times

Daily Mail

The Times

The Daily Telegraph

WORKFORCE

Norway oil companies and unions agree wage deal

Norwegian oil companies and labour unions have agreed to a wage deal that prevents strike action. Unions had said nearly 8% of Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers planned to strike if mediation had failed. A general annual pay increase of 42,000 Norwegian crowns ($4,493) was agreed, ‌including ⁠offshore compensation and holiday allowance, officials said. "In addition, shift and night supplements will increase by NOK 5 and NOK 8 respectively. Adjustments have also been made to variable supplements, along with some technical changes to the agreements," ⁠Offshore Norway said.

Reuters

Europe risks ‘mass unemployment’ without reform, warns ABB boss

ABB chief executive Morten Wierod has said Europe risks a “mass unemployment” crisis unless there is urgent deregulation as the energy shock from the Iran war dents local competitiveness.

Financial Times

HIRING

Hungary to stop issuing worker visas to employees from the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia

Hungary has ceased issuing worker visas to employees from the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia. A government spokeswoman said the move was intended to tighten employment opportunities for guest workers amid concerns they are pushing down local salaries. Reuters notes that some of Hungary's largest foreign investors ⁠have said a complete halt to the inflow of guest workers would hit companies and the country's wider economy.

Reuters

STRATEGY

British retailers cut 18,000 jobs last year

Major British retailers have cut nearly 18,000 jobs in the past year, driven by tax increases and rising minimum wages. According to analysis by Bloomberg, Tesco led the losses, reducing its workforce by almost 5,000. Other companies including Sainsbury's and Kingfisher also reported significant reductions. According to the British Retail Consortium, increased costs on the sector from National Insurance and the National Living Wage totalled £6.5bn.

Bloomberg

Daily Mail

CORPORATE

French telecom operators to acquire ailing rival SFR

Three French telecom operators, Bouygues Telecom, Orange, and Iliad, have finalised a deal to acquire SFR from Altice for €20.35bn ($23.4bn). The agreement, described by the companies in a joint statement as "one of the largest industrial transactions in the telecommunications sector in Europe," will reduce the number of major operators in France from four to three. The deal includes a commitment to retain SFR employees until 2029. Altice's owner, Patrick Drahi, has faced financial challenges, leading to asset sales and scrutiny from regulators regarding consumer pricing impacts.

Bloomberg

Daily Sabah

LEGAL

Fired KLM worker loses severance pay lawsuit

The Noord-Holland district court has ruled that a KLM employee who was dismissed after allowing 1,000 litres of kerosene to leak during refuelling, endangering safety, was not entitled to the €85,000 compensation he sought. The court noted: "By taking risks completely unnecessarily, he endangered the safety of colleagues, passengers, and other bystanders." KLM's decision to terminate the worker's employment was upheld, and he must pay €1,148 in legal fees instead of receiving compensation.

NL Times

ECONOMY

ECB set to raise interest rates

The European Central Bank (ECB) is poised this week to increase interest rates for the first time in two and a half years, driven by inflation pressures from the Iran war. Consumer prices in the eurozone rose to 3.2% in May, surpassing the ECB's 2% target. Analysts predict a quarter percentage point increase, raising the key deposit rate from 2.00% to 2.25%. ING economist Carsten Brzeski said: "Anything but a rate hike at the ECB meeting would be a big surprise."

France 24

SUSTAINABILITY

Net-zero is 'destroying jobs', UK union head says

Gary Smith, the general secretary of the UK's GMB union, has accused the Labour Party of "destroying jobs" through its clean energy policies. He said that such policies are "closing factories, hitting investment and hitting jobs." Smith dismissed energy secretary Ed Miliband's claims that increasing North Sea oil and gas production would not benefit the economy as "utter nonsense," and warned that an ideological push for clean energy is leading to growing support for right-wing populist party Reform UK among frustrated workers.

The Times

INTERNATIONAL

Walmart shareholders reject AI workforce review amid automation push

Walmart shareholders have voted against a proposal seeking a report on how the retailer's growing use of AI affects employee wellbeing, despite concerns raised by workers about increased pressure, burnout and workplace safety risks. The vote came as Walmart expands its use of AI and automation across stores, warehouses and e-commerce operations in a bid to strengthen its position against Amazon. The company said AI is being deployed responsibly to support, rather than replace, human decision-making. Shareholders also rejected a proposal requesting an assessment of the impact of changing US immigration policies on Walmart’s operations.

Reuters

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