Latest news with #jobs
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bahrain to announce $17 billion in US deals during Trump talks
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Bahrain's crown prince is set to announce plans to invest more than $17 billion in the United States during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, a White House official said. As part of the investment, Bahrain is expected to sign a deal between Gulf Air and Boeing/GE valued at around $7 billion for 12 aircraft with an option for six more, the official said. The deal also includes the sale of 40 GE engines, the official said. The announcement from Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa comes on the heels of foreign investment deals Trump made during a trip to the Middle East in May. During a visit to Riyadh, Trump secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the United States and agreed to sell the Saudis an arms package worth nearly $142 billion. The White House official said the Bahrain deal will support 30,000 American jobs and was secured with help from Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The crown prince will also commit to deploy additional capital in excess of billions of dollars. Bahrain is expected to be signing deals with Oracle and Cisco, with plans to replace Chinese servers with Cisco products, the official said. Bahrain also seeks to increase its investments in U.S. energy, tech and manufacturing sectors. The official said the crown prince intends to deploy capital to increase U.S. domestic aluminum production, invest in U.S. LNG production to secure BAH energy supplies and purchase cutting edge AI chips partnering with U.S. hyper-scalers. During the visit, the crown prince will announce the kingdom's intention to make these investments and sign various deals and memoranda of understanding. One of these MOUs creates a framework for Bahrain to begin discussions towards developing commercial nuclear capabilities, the official said. Later this year, the king of Bahrain will visit Washington to finalize these agreements and solidify the progress made in building our two nation's economic prosperity, the official said. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
British supermarket giant with over 1,200 locations announces ‘devastating' closure of store with 50 jobs at risk
A SUPERMARKET giant has announced a "devastating" store closure - putting 50 jobs at risk. The popular chain confirmed that it proposes to shut its shop doors due to a rent increase that would make the store no longer "viable commercially", Barking and Dagenham Post reports. 2 Jobs at risk as supermarket announces closure The current lease ends in September. This closure of Asda's store in Anchor Retail Park, Stepney Green could impact 50 of its employees. The news has been described as "devastating" by GMB union. GMB region officer Keith Dixon told Barking and Dagenham Post: "This is devastating news for the shop staff, many of whom have worked at Asda for years. "We have many GMB members in this store and they are understandably concerned about their jobs." He added: "We hope that the majority may be able to move to neighbouring stores, but if that is not possible there could be job losses." Mr Dixon also explained that this closure will be a massive blow to the community who have used the store since its opening nearly 10 years ago. GMB are attending ongoing consultation meetings in the hopes of securing positions at other locations for these employees. Mr Dixon explained that those who do not wish to move stores will unfortunately face redundancy. Costa Coffee Shuts Whitstable Branch: What Shop Closures Mean for UK High Streets Asda issues statement An Asda spokesperson said: 'We are currently consulting with colleagues regarding the proposed closure of our Stepney Green supermarket. "The lease on the premises is due to expire in September, and unfortunately, the new terms proposed by the landlord include a significant rent increase, which would make the store financially unviable. "Our priority throughout this process is to support our colleagues, and wherever possible, we will look to redeploy them to other roles within Asda. 'We also understand that customers will be disappointed by this decision if it goes ahead, but we would like to reassure them that they can still get their favourite products and great value at our nearby Isle of Dogs superstore.' Supermarket closures in 2025 Asda is not the only major retailer facing store closures. The Sun reported last month that a number of Co-op branches are at risk of shutting their doors. The popular high street store could be closing 34 locations after facing financial struggles. Morrisons also shuttered 16 of its stores in April this year as the retailer continues to make cuts. Residents took to Facebook to express their disappointment, with one writing: "It's such a shame." Why are retailers closing shops? EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline. The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors. In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping. Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed. The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing. Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns. Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead. In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few. What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online. They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. 2
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Recruiter Robert Walters cuts more jobs as income falls again in face of global economic uncertainty
Robert Walters has cut more jobs after income fell again in the face of increased economic uncertainty globally. Bosses at the recruitment business cautioned that they do not expect to see a 'material improvement in hiring markets in the near term'. Robert Walters said it cut its headcount by a further 2 per cent, or 77 roles, to 3,125 employees by the end of June due to continued weakness in the market. The company has axed 500 jobs across its business over the past year. Robert Walters also reported yesterday that group net fee income fell by 13 per cent in the latest quarter. There was an 8 per cent fall in UK income to £12.1million for the quarter.
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Amazon stages Hull jobs fair ahead of new warehouse opening
An event has been held to recruit up to 2,000 workers for Amazon's new warehouse near retailer teamed up with Hull and East Riding councils to stage the event at the city's Central Library in Albion facility at Melton West Business Park is expected to open later this year as part of Amazon's £40bn UK expansion Paul Drake-Davis, Hull City Council's portfolio holder for economic renewal, said: "Amazon's investment demonstrates the confidence that global companies have in the region's economy." Information was provided about warehouse operative Dawson, who attended the event, said: "I thought this would be a great opportunity for me because I keep getting rejected from jobs. I hope I'll be able to get a job and start as soon as possible." She said it was "really hard" to find employment and welcomed the opportunity to meet with Amazon representatives."I've always thought somewhere like Amazon would be a great opportunity," she said. Another jobseeker, Hussain, who did not want to give his surname, added: "I'm looking for a job and I heard about it through the employment hub. I'd like an administrative job but at the end of the day any kind of job because I really badly need a job." Amazon spokesman Neil Williams said: "There's a range of jobs and a wide variety of roles ranging from IT through to robotics engineers and HR professionals. There's a huge range of skills we will be looking for in recruitment and we're looking for people who want to develop a career." Drake-Davis said the decision by Amazon to invest is "a real shot in the arm for the area's employment opportunities".Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘People are worried': AI boss reveals what is really going to happen to everyone's jobs
Aussie couple Samuel and Hannah Priestley's AI business is on track to make seven figures but they both swear it isn't coming at the cost of anyone's jobs. The couple felt compelled to make the assurance as there's been growing concern about how the introduction of AI (artificial intelligence) will impact people's jobs in Australia. Analysis from Australian policy organisation the Social Policy Group (SPG) found if Australia maintains its current pace of AI adoption, one third of the workforce could experience a period of unemployment by 2030. Mr Priestley said when he tells people at parties he runs an AI business, the most common response is concern that jobs will be lost in the technology revolution, but he swears that isn't the case at all. 'It isn't about cutting jobs it is about making businesses sustainable,' he told Has AI changed your job? Share your story: Mr Priestley is used to being ahead of the curve. The 34-year-old started with a background in engineering and was working as a firefighter when he pivoted and opened an events business, where people can hire shirtless firefighters as entertainment. He says he has always had a knack for identifying gaps in the market, and his AI business, Click Road, was born out of his experience adapting AI into his own business. He doesn't think Aussies should feel too threatened by AI because the tools that are available should help people do their jobs better, not make them unnecessary. Mr Priestley said in his events business he uses AI to streamline his work, and the tool helps prevents him from having to send the same email '20 times a day'. He uses the technology to answer simple inquiries and provide customers with answers and quotes immediately. 'Our business was on a bigger scale than some of our competitors, and some had eight (admin staff), whereas we had like two,' he said. 'On the outside, people are like 'whoa that could have been six people's jobs', but no one has the money to spend on these kinds of services, and wages are going up.' He said the introduction of that technology hasn't led to any job cuts because he wasn't prepared to hire anyone to do such basic work in the first place. 'The thing with me is that I didn't have money to pay staff to do that so stuff. So I was just doing that as an owner-operator, and it was just me doing an extra four hours of work a day,' he said. Mr Priestley said once he saw how much AI helped his own business, he realised other small and medium-sized businesses could benefit from consulting services to learn how to use AI and overcome their fears around the technology. Now he consults with small businesses and helps them bring in basic automated processes for things like tracking parcels and answering general inquiries. 'It isn't about taking jobs. The businesses we work with can't afford six staff, they're not employing staff anyway,' he argued. 'It is more the workload is too big and people are doing massive days.' Mr Priestley said he understands 'people are worried' about threats to their jobs, but that isn't what he sees developments in AI leading to. 'We've worked with hundreds of businesses now. It is just about making people's lives easier and more manageable,' he said. Giving an example of how he would work with a building company, Mr Priestley said he might collaborate with them to develop an automatic reply system for general inquiries, so the company could focus on building houses rather than replying to emails. The AI expert said he doesn't come into businesses and help them 'sack everyone' but the tools he adds to the workplace help people become more productive. 'People are just heaps more productive now. You're not going to lose your job if you're more productive,' he said. Mr Priestley said the demand for his AI business has already outpaced his events space because, at the end of the day, paying for shirtless firefighters isn't an essential. 'We've just hit the sweet spot,' he said. 'What we sort of found is everyone's heard of AI and there's no business that can't benefit from it. Events are fun, but it is discretionary spending.'
