Asda is to axe hundreds of jobs at its Leeds head office and a further site in the East Midlands as part of a major cost-cutting drive. About 300 jobs are to go at Asda House in Leeds and George House in Leicester with job descriptions to a further 800 roles changed. Figures for 2016,…
This week marks almost three months since the abolition of employment tribunal fees. For those who missed it, the ruling followed Unison’s arduous and multi-year appeal against the government’s decision to impose tribunal fees on employees issuing tribunal proceedings. Unison, having had their case rejected at every level, finally succeeded in the Supreme Court. The…
The owner of Carphone Warehouse and Dixons has warned that more expensive mobile phone handsets and lower EU roaming charges will hurt its profits. In an unscheduled statement, the company stated that the scrapping of EU roaming charges for people using mobile phones abroad and customers not upgrading their phones as frequently because handsets have…
Airbnb have revealed plans to crack the Asian market. Nathan Blecharczyk, a co-founder and the firm’s chief strategy officer, says it’s firmly focused on expanding in Asia-Pacific. The region has roughly 60% of the world’s millennials i.e. young adults between the ages of 19 and 35 who are the fastest growing generation of consumers. However,…
Online retail giant Amazon is to open a new warehouse near Bristol in 2018 which it says will create 1,000 jobs adding to its 13 sites in the UK. Other new warehouses are set to open in Doncaster, Warrington and Tilbury this autumn. The firm’s UK workforce will total 24,000 by the end of 2017.…
The Co-operative Bank has said it lost about 25,000 current accounts during the first 6 months of the year following the uncertainty over its future. Furthermore, £400m of instant access savings cash was withdrawn in a period that saw the bank being put up for sale before a rescue deal was agreed. In June 2017…
Sales at High Street retailer Next have had a big boost after an 11.4% increase from their Directory catalogue and internet business. However, full-price sales at Next Retail fell 7.4%, and it said it remained “cautious” about its outlook, given the current consumer environment. Next shares topped the FTSE 100 in early trading, rising more…
Profits at Sports Direct have plummeted nearly 60%, which the firm said was largely due to the weaker pound. Pre-tax profit fell to £113.7m from £275.2m in 2016 because of “currency movements and increased depreciation charges”. Chief executive and the owner of Newcastle Football Club, Mike Ashley, said it had now taken steps to “minimise…
Several months since the Trade Union Act 2016 has come into force, Wrigley Claydon looks into some of the key changes. We have highlighted some of the key aspects of the Act, which are as follows: 1. Before companies and industrial action can take place, 50% of members need to vote 2. Trade Unions will…
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside another £1bn to cover the cost of insurance mis-selling and the treatment of mortgage customers. Another £700m will cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims and £283m will be used to repay about 590,000 mortgage holders. The repayment to mortgage customers comes after they were charged from 2009 to 2016…