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BusinessHow AI may drive union-resistant tech workers to the bargaining table
Tech workers are increasingly unionizing, trading Silicon Valley’s myth of exceptionalism for collective bargaining to contest the corporate deployment of artificial intelligenceFor decades, the technology industry was a fortress that labor unions couldn’t breach. Tech workers already had cushy compensation packages, dream benefits like unlimited vacation and free lunch, and a flat corporate hierarchy that made engineers feel as powerful as their bosses, all of whom dressed down in sneakers and hoodies. So why unionize?Now, that fortress is cracking from the inside. Unions have become increasingly popular for tech employees. After months of mass layoffs tied to artificial intelligence and mounting anxieties about how it’s being deployed, some tech workers say they’ve been saddled with higher workloads while facing the threat of job loss caused by the very products they’re building. Workers from Google DeepMind and Meta in the UK are also objecting to how their companies’ AI products are being used, such as for military purposes or to monitor employee productivity. Those same workers are now attempting to unionize. Continue reading...
BusinessDefence stocks rally as John Healey appointed chancellor; UK borrows less than expected in June – business live
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsMore on the cost of living: new figures show that UK grocery inflation eased in the four weeks to 12th July to 2.6%, its lowest rate since December 2024.It marks the fifth consecutive month of slowing price rises, Worldpanel by Numerator found.Easing price rises will come as welcome news to shoppers, but the annual bill tells a fuller story. The average household spent £5,530 on groceries over the past twelve months to July, up £156 on the same period last year - a reminder that even as the rate of inflation cools, the cumulative cost of the weekly shop keeps climbing.L&VW agrees that there is an opportunity to enhance the way local government, regulators and Thames Water work together, granting greater public controls on critical business issues to improve delivery of complex, essential infrastructure projects, and demonstrate shared accountability.The consortium is willing to make significant new commitments to grant greater controls and oversight to ministers, implemented through a ‘golden share’. Continue reading...
BusinessUK borrows less than expected in June but public finances remain a challenge
Public finances for last month were better than expected but the UK is carrying major debt.
BusinessThames Water lenders offer 'golden share' to head off nationalisation
The water supplier's lenders are trying to prevent the company from being taken over by the Burnham government
BusinessVAT to be cut from household electricity bills in October
Homes will save around £45 a year through the cut announced on Andy Burnham's first full day as prime minister.
BusinessWhat does an Andy Burnham-led government mean for your money?
The new PM says he will look at how much people can earn before paying tax but admitted changing it would be difficult.
BusinessTrump slaps 50% tariffs on Canada and Carney vows to 'intensify' trade talks
The duties mark a major escalation in trade tensions between the North American neighbours.
BusinessMitie agrees £3.1bn takeover by OCS in blow to London stock market
Board of UK government contractor recommends deal with private-equity owned rivalBusiness live – latest updatesThe outsourcer Mitie has agreed to a £3.1bn takeover by its private-equity owned rival OCS Group, ending nearly four decades on the stock market and making it the latest London-listed company to be acquired this year.On Tuesday, the government contractor said its board has recommended that shareholders accept a cash offer of 221.6p a share, a 44.7% premium to Monday’s closing price. Continue reading...
BusinessAndy Burnham promised urgent action on the cost of living – the heat is now on chancellor John Healey to deliver it | Alfie Stirling
The PM and the new boss at the Treasury face an even trickier task than their predecessors. They need a good plan, and we have oneAlfie Stirling is an economist and director of policy at the Joseph Rowntree FoundationAs Keir Starmer found, it takes more than words alone to warm a tepid bath. Voters reserve the greatest punishment for the politicians they think acted too little, or too late, to prevent them getting poorer. For Andy Burnham, much will now depend on whether he has got the right ideas, and in John Healey the right chancellor, to address Britain’s growing affordability crisis: not least as the new prime minister sets out new measures today to give people “some breathing space”.Before Rachel Reeves took office, the average family was set to be worse off in 2029 than they had been in 2019. That’s not supposed to happen. The norm is for household incomes to rise by about £5,000 (2026 prices) every five years. Never before on modern record have they fallen across an entire decade.Alfie Stirling is an economist and director of policy at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Continue reading...
BusinessMinister pressed on electricity bills savings figures
The government says a typical home will save about £45 a year when VAT is cut from 5% to 0%.