Twitter staff ‘treated appallingly’ as layoffs start; US jobs report beats forecasts – business live | Business

Just in: the US economy added 261,000 jobs in October, more than forecast, in a sign that America’s labor market remains pretty robust.

The latest Non-Farm Payroll jobs report beat expectations, despite the pressure from high inflation and rising interest rates. Economists had forecast a rise of around 200,000 jobs.

Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% month-on-month, more than the 0.3% expected.

And September’s report has been revised up, to show 315,000 new hires, from 263,000 first estimated.

But, the unemployment rate has risen to 3.7%, from 3.5%.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman has denied that Britain’s Sizewell C nuclear power plant project is to be scrapped.

He told reporters that negotiations on the plant’s funding are progressing, after the BBC reported it was under review (see earlier post) and could be delayed or even scrapped.

Asked if the government was scrapping Sizewell C, the spokesman said (via Reuters):

“No … it is not accurate to say we are scrapping it. Our position on Sizewell C has not changed.”

“We hope to get a deal over the line as soon as possible. There are negotiations ongoing. I can’t get into detail of those, but negotiations have been constructive.

UK construction companies have been hit by the first drop in new orders since the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020.

Some firms blamed heightened political uncertainty for the drop in new work in October – a month in which borrowing costs surged after the UK’s mini-budget rocked markets.

Business confidence fell sharply too, to the lowest for almost two-and-a half years, the latest survey of purchasing managers by S&P Global Insight shows.

But overall, the sector kept growing as firms started new projects or continued existing work.

UK union Prospect are appalled by the way that Twitter’s staff are being treated, as Elon Musk begins mass job cuts.

Prospect, which represents technology workers, compared it to the notorious sudden mass sacking of 800 workers by P&O Ferries this year, which provoked anger among the public and MPs.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect union, said:

“Twitter is treating its people appallingly.

“These are people who have invested their time, effort and enthusiasm in building the platform, which risks being thrown away.

“The government must make clear to Twitter’s new owners that we won’t accept a digital P&O and that no-one is above the law in the UK, including Big Tech barons. That must include making sure UK staff’s full employment rights are properly protected.

“We are supporting our members at Twitter and will be working with them to defend them and their livelihoods.

Full story: Twitter sued by former staff as Elon Musk begins mass sackings

Josh Taylor

Twitter is facing a class action lawsuit from former employees who say they were not given enough notice under US federal law that they had lost their jobs, finding out they had been let go when they were locked out of their work accounts on Thursday.

In a company-wide memo, staff were informed on Thursday that they would receive an email to their personal email accounts if they were being fired as part of the mass sackings at the platform in which up to half of the company could go.

Before those emails arrived, dozens of staff began posting on Twitter that they had been fired – after discovering they were no longer able to access their work email accounts or log into their work laptops.

Musk’s plans to cut up to 3,700 staff may hit a roadblock, however, after a lawsuit was filed in the US federal court in San Francisco seeking orders for Twitter to comply with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires 60 days’ notice for mass sackings at large employers.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of five Twitter employees so far, says one was fired on 1 November, while three were not informed at the time of filing but had been locked out of their email accounts.

The case cited a similar situation with sackings at Musk’s other company, Tesla, where the company sought to obtain full release from its obligations under the Warn Act by offering severance of one or two weeks’ pay instead.

More here:

Hundreds of workers at Heathrow airport in London are to hold a three-day walkout later this month, which could disrupt flights to the soccer World Cup finals in Qatar.

The Unite union has announced that 700 workers, who are involved in ground-handling, airside transport and cargo, will take three days of strike action beginning on Friday 18 November, in a dispute over pay.

The staff are employed by Dnata and Menzies at Heathrow.

Unite says the strike action will lead to “disruption, cancellations and delays” at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4, adding:

The strike action will particularly affect Qatar Airways, which has scheduled an additional 10 flights a week during the World Cup.

The strike could also cause disruption to passengers returning to the United States for the Thanksgiving holiday, on Thursday 24th November.

Other leading airlines that will be hit heavily include Virgin, Singapore Airlines, Cathay-Pacific and Emirates, the union predicts.

Unite says Dnata has offered its workers a 5% increase, while Menzies has offered workers between 2% and 6%.

Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said:

“Strike action will inevitably cause disruption, delays and cancellations to flights throughout Heathrow, with travellers to the World Cup particularly affected.

However, this dispute is entirely of Dnata and Menzies own making. They have had every opportunity to make a fair pay offer but have chosen not to do so.”

UK car sales jumped by a quarter last month, new figures show, despite the rising squeeze on household incomes.

New registrations rose by 26% year-on-year to 134,344 units in October, the SMMT reports.

Sales were lifted by growing demand for hybrid (MHEV) cars which combine a combustion engine with an electric battery.

But despite this increase, the SMMT expects 2022 to be the worst year for car sales in four decades.

It says:

Ongoing supply chain shortages, surging inflation and a growing cost of living crisis have led to a -2.2% downward revision of the market outlook for the year, with 1.566 million registrations now anticipated.

This puts 2022 on course to be the market’s toughest year since 1982.

SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes adds:

“A strong October is hugely welcome, albeit in comparison with a weak 2021, but it is still not enough to offset the damage done by the pandemic and subsequent supply shortages,”

Many of the people who received new cars in October will have ordered them some time ago, due to the supply chain disruption that slowed production.

Ian Plummer, Auto Trader director, reports that more people are buying cars on credit – even though borrowing rates have risen.

“As the broader cost of living crisis impacts consumers, demand for cars has begun to flatten and we’re seeing an increasing number of consumers turn to finance. Finance searches have never been so high on Auto Trader with search volume up 43% on pre-pandemic levels and up 8% compared with the highs of 2021, showing that many people are looking to spread the cost as budgets are tightened. Currently, we’re seeing that finance rates for new cars are climbing much faster than used cars.

“It’s worth flagging that consumers already in finance agreements won’t see any increases until the end of their contract so will be shielded, at least for now, from the immediate effects of these rises.”

But, of course, they will face a jump when they try to refinance.

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned that the next few years will be tough in the UK, with Brexit partly to blame.

He told Radio 4’s Today Programme:

As we all know, it’s a difficult period, and it will get tougher for the next few years.

But, there is a prospect in the Bank’s judgement…. that inflation will be under control.

The “very difficult reality” is that the Bank of England wants to slow the pace of the UK economy, Carney continues (to push down inflation and stop it becoming embedded).

He says higher energy prices have slowed the pace at which the UK economy can grow. Covid has changed the labour market which also hurts growth capacity (more people aren’t able to work due to ill health or caring responsibilities)

“And then of course, in the UK unfortunately we’ve also had this near-term impact of Brexit, which has slowed the pace at which the economy can grow”, Carney adds.

Carney also stuck to his recent warning that Brexit had shrunk the UK economy: