US EPA cutting workforce by 23% through early retirements, layoffs
In January, the EPA had 16,155 employees, and after layoffs and employees opting to take financial incentives to leave or retire, it will have a workforce of 12,448, the agency said. The EPA is also offering a third round of the deferred resignation program that will close on July 25, meaning the agency's total workforce could further shrink, a spokesperson said.
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Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Union Pacific nearing agreement to buy Norfolk Southern Bloomberg reports
July 26 (Reuters) - Union Pacific (UNP.N), opens new tab, the largest U.S. railroad operator, could reach an agreement to acquire rival Norfolk Southern (NSC.N), opens new tab as soon as early next week, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Union Pacific had said on Thursday it is in advanced talks to acquire its rival, signaling that a deal to form a $200 billion coast-to-coast rail company could be close - and potentially trigger further consolidation among remaining freight rail giants. Union Pacific declined to comment, while Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The combination, which would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector, would create the first modern West-to-East single-line freight railroad in the United States, significantly affecting how goods from grains to chemicals to autos move across the country. The fact that talks are advancing has surprised many in the rail industry and Wall Street as the U.S. freight rail system already functions as two regional duopolies by point of origin. The talks show how thinking around antitrust issues has shifted under President Donald Trump's administration, with his executive orders aimed at removing anti-competitive barriers and opening the door to potential megamergers in the industry. If completed, the deal would combine Union Pacific's dominant position in the western two-thirds of the U.S. with Norfolk Southern's 19,500-mile network spanning 22 eastern states. Union Pacific is valued at approximately $138 billion, according to LSEG data. The company has been grappling with sluggish automotive volumes and volatile coal shipments as power producers shift to natural gas, which is shipped by pipeline. Norfolk Southern, which is worth about $63 billion, is emerging from a turbulent period that included the ouster of its former CEO amid ethics investigations, a high-profile boardroom clash with activist investor Ancora, and a costly train derailment that set the company back about $1.4 billion.
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
California's minimum wage hike may have cost thousands of jobs
According to the economists behind the study, fast food employment in California dropped by 3.2 percent, while jobs in the same sector grew slightly across the rest of the U.S. 'Our median estimate translates into a loss of 18,000 jobs in California's fast–food sector relative to the counterfactual,' wrote researchers Jeffrey Clemens, Olivia Edwards, and Jonathan Meer. Before the law took effect, California's fast food industry was tracking the same employment trend as the rest of the country, the study found. But after AB 1228 was passed, the sector began to shrink. 'Following AB 1228's enactment, employment in the fast food sector in California fell substantially,' the paper states, citing declines 'even as employment in other sectors of the California economy tracked national trends'. Critics say the figures confirm what many feared: that a massive one–size–fits–all pay hike would push jobs out of reach for the workers it was meant to help. 'When it comes to central planning, history keeps the receipts: Wage controls never work,' wrote Heritage Foundation economist Rachel Greszler in a column reacting to the findings. 'That's because policymakers can set wage laws, but they can't outlaw the consequences.' She warned the law should serve as a wake–up call for other cities – especially Los Angeles, which recently voted to raise wages for hotel and airport workers to $30 an hour by 2028. 'The consequences of that wage hike on the fast–food industry should be a warning sign,' she said. The Wall Street Journal editorial board echoed that message, slamming politicians for 'magical thinking' around wage hikes. 'The Democratic Party's socialist nominee for New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has called for increasing the city's minimum wage to $30. Andrew Cuomo, his supposedly more moderate competitor, wants a $20 minimum,' the board wrote. 'These guys will never learn because they don't want to see the world as it really is.' But Governor Gavin Newsom's office has pushed back hard – questioning the integrity of the NBER paper and insisting California's wage law is working as intended. Tara Gallegos, Newsom's deputy director of communications, dismissed the study as politically motivated, telling Fox News Digital that it was 'linked to the Hoover Institution,' which she claimed had previously published 'false or misleading information' about the state's wage policies. She pointed to an October 2024 report in the San Francisco Chronicle, which said the early effects of AB 1228 'defy a lot of the doom–and–gloom predictions' made when the bill was signed. Gallegos also cited a February 2025 study by a UC Berkeley professor, which looked at fast food employment trends through December and found 'no negative effects.' 'Workers covered by the policy saw wage increases of 8 to 9 percent, with no negative wage or employment effects on non–covered workers,' she said. 'No negative effects on fast–food employment.' She added: 'The number of fast–food establishments grew faster in California than in the rest of the U.S.' As for prices, the Berkeley study claimed menu costs rose by only 1.5 percent – about six cents on a $4 hamburger. The NBER paper also looked at whether the law had a knock-on effect in full-service restaurants, which weren't subject to the $20 mandate but compete for the same workers. The authors found smaller but still negative employment effects – a median drop of 2.12 percent. And while critics were quick to blame the law for economic pain, the researchers warned against cherry-picking isolated data. They used placebo inference methods to compare California's job trends with other states – and in most cases, California showed the steepest employment drop.
The Sun
14 minutes ago
- The Sun
I was commuting 3 hours a day to my dead end job & barely saw my kids – now my self-taught side hustle has made me £327k
A WOMAN has revealed how she ditched her dead end job for a side hustle that makes her £327,000. Desiree Hill, 39, was sick of travelling three hours a day to her medical assistant job, where she earned £28,000. 2 2 She worked long hours, and never got to see her kids, which she says "took a toll", on her mental health. After getting divorced in 2018, Desiree, from Atlanta, Georgia, decided that she needed to earn some extra cash to provide for her two children. After deliberating about how to do this, she decided that it would be a great idea to buy, repair and resell rundown cars. "Everybody needs transportation, that's never going to stop, no matter what", she told CNBC Make It. "I knew that it was something that I could spend a small amount on, and potentially make a lot of profit." Desiree's first project was an old truck that she bought for £893 and did up herself, despite having no prior experience. Using Google and YouTube, she was able to teach herself how to fix the vehicle, which she realised just needed a replacement throttle which set her back just £44. "I just fixed this vehicle with a $60 part, and I didn't have to pay anybody to do it", she said. Desiree went on to sell that first truck for £2977, meaning she made £2040 profit. "It was almost like a high. I wanted to keep doing it", she said. I earn cash by selling 'actual rubbish' on eBay - I flogged a freebie I found on the floor by a bin for £10, it's crazy She kept flipping and selling cars whilst working full time in healthcare. After work, she would make dinner and then put the kids to bed before working on the cars until three in the morning, even though she had to be up at six for work. In 2020, Desiree flipped and sold 38 cars, and decided that now was the time to leave her job. She documented her journey on social media, which helped to build her client base. Side hustles in numbers Based on new research from Finder, an estimated 22.8 million Brits are using side hustles to top up their income. Among those aged 18-23, 68 percent have a side hustle in 2024. Those aged 24-42 aren't far behind, with 65 per cent having an additional source of income. Side hustles are less popular among older generations, with 40 percent of those aged 43-54 having one. Whereas 23 percent of people aged 55-73 and just 7 per cent of those aged 74 and over are earning extra cash this way. The mum now has 120,000 TikTok followers, and in 2021 launched a mobile repair service, where she would travel to people's houses and fix their vehicles. She found this to be much less stressful, as she didn't have to worry about whether the car was going to sell, and made exactly the same amount of money as the car flipping. Desiree decided to switch from flipping cars to being a mechanic, and her business grew so rapidly that she was able to hire a mechanic and rent a repair space in a shop for £297. A kind client then offered her a whopping £7500 loan, which enabled her to buy a larger space, and she now owns Crowns Corner Mechanics, which raked in £327,000 in 2024. She now gets to spend much more time with her family, and her kids now even help out at the shop.
