Competition watchdog pressures government to take on tech giants July 1, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said existing UK laws are not suitable for effective regulation, calling on the government to overhaul its structure so it can better tackle tech market dominance. The watchdog said it needs more support to govern the behaviour of “major platforms funded by digital advertising, like Google and Facebook”, [...]
Puma, Adidas, Microsoft and Ford join Facebook boycott June 30, 2020 Major global brands have joined a long list of companies that have withdrawn adverts from Facebook amid mounting pressure for the social media site to remove harmful and false content. Sportswear giants Puma and Adidas joined a raft of almost 200 major companies around the world including Reebok, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks, that have signed up [...]
AI is here and compliance needs to respond June 29, 2020 Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are set to pose a unique challenge to the future workplace, including the compliance profession. How should compliance respond to such innovation? Handwringing over technology and automation replacing human beings in the workplace has a long history and is far from being unique to our times. When unveiling his automated [...]
Car production slump continues in May despite factories restarting June 26, 2020 The country’s car manufacturers produced a mere 5,314 vehicles in May as output stalled for the second consecutive month due to coronavirus. New data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that although two-thirds of the country’s car plants restarted work last month, output was severely curtailed due to social distancing requirements [...]
Ford UK chairman calls for government zero emissions strategy June 23, 2020 The chairman of Ford in the UK has today called on the government to join with the automotive industry in developing a long-term strategy to hit its target of only selling zero emissions vehicles by 2035. Speaking at today’s virtual Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) summit, Graham Hoare said: “A successful future for [...]
European Union begins Fiat-PSA mega-merger probe June 17, 2020 European Union officials have launched a four-month probe into the $50bn mega-merger between Peugeot owner PSA and Fiat Chrysler (FCA) over competition fears. Antitrust regulators are concerned about the merged entity’s high market share in the lucrative small van sector. Upon completion of the merger, the new Fiat-PSA company will control a third of the [...]
UK Space Agency signs US deal to fuel British spaceports June 17, 2020 British and American government ministers have signed a deal to power up the UK’s spaceports programme and boost tech exports. The UK Space Agency said today the agreement will allow US companies to operate and launch rockets and satellites from British spaceports, as well as support their participation in the UK space sector supply chain. [...]
Fiat-PSA mega-merger faces months-long competition probe June 11, 2020 The $50bn mega-merger between car giants Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA is facing a four-month competition probe from European antitrust officials after the companies failed to provide requested concessions. Over the weekend it emerged that the two firms had been warned by the European Union over their combined high market share in small vans. [...]
British Gas owner Centrica to cut 5,000 jobs June 11, 2020 British Gas owner Centrica has said that it will cut 5,000 jobs this year as it seeks to restructure its business model after coronavirus. More than half of the cuts, which account for 20 per cent of its workforce, come from managerial positions. Today’s announcement comes on top of 2018’s plans for 4,000 redundancies by [...]
Bauer to shutter dozens of radio brands in restructuring plan May 27, 2020 Bauer today said it will shut down almost 50 local radio station brands as it restructures its media empire to form the UK’s largest commercial radio network. Earlier this year the company was given regulatory approval for its takeover of 54 regional stations from Celador, Lincs FM, Wireless and UKRD. Bauer today said that most [...]