Business

Asda’s owners have revealed a planned shake-up that places hundreds of jobs at risk and will see thousands moved to lower-paid roles. The UK’s third-largest grocery chain by market share said its changes were the result of an “efficiency” drive but they were met with stinging criticism by the GMB union. The company has proposed

Royal Mail’s parent firm has raised its estimate for the cost of industrial action so far to £200m and claimed that up to 12,500 union members have worked on strike days. International Distributions Services (IDS) said 18 days of walkouts at Royal Mail helped push the division to a £295m operating loss in the first

A London-based estate agent chaired by the former Sainsbury’s chief Justin King is on the brink of a deal to buy rival Marsh & Parsons. Sky News has learnt that Dexters, which is privately owned, has been in talks for weeks with LSL Property Services, Marsh & Parsons’ London-listed parent company. Sources said a deal

Germany is looking into a Microsoft outage that affected users around the world today. The interior ministry said the country’s cybersecurity office was investigating to identify potential culprits behind the attack. “The scope and source of these attacks are currently being clarified,” said a spokesperson. The company has not revealed how many were affected, but

Darren Westwood knows how to stick up for himself. As a kid, he was bullied in the playground and beaten up in his local town centre. Now he doesn’t take stick from anyone, no matter how big or strong they appear, even if they happen to be one of the biggest companies in the world.

It’s hard to imagine the internet without Google. The tech giant has become so synonymous with searching the web that it has become a verb – we don’t look it up, we “Google it”. Google ended 2022 as it ends every year, as the most visited website in the world. Its estimated share of the

Thousands of pensioners left facing an uncertain retirement by the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s high street empire are on the verge of a funding deal backed by one of Britain’s biggest insurers. Sky News has learnt that the trustees of the Arcadia Group pension scheme are close to striking a binding deal with Aviva

Twitter is being sued by the Crown Estate amid allegations of unpaid rent at its London headquarters. The Crown Estate, which manages a property portfolio belonging to the monarchy, filed a case at the High Court last week. Twitter’s office is based near Piccadilly Circus in central London – but reports have suggested that the

Some households with smart meters could be eligible for discounts if they cut their use of electricity between 5 and 6pm today. The National Grid ESO (electricity system operator) is, for the first time, activating the “demand flexibility service (DFS)” – which allows it to access additional flexibility when national demand is at its highest

The bank executive who helped to transform Virgin Money into one of Britain’s biggest high street lenders has landed a role at the helm of a British-based digital wealth manager. Sky News understands that Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia will on Monday be unveiled as chair of Moneyfarm. Dame Jayne-Anne’s appointment will ignite speculation that Moneyfarm, which

An online pet food retailer has hit out at one brand’s “excessive” price increases, and instead offered customers 10% off its competitors. Customers have been reporting steep price increases across a number of items from Royal Canin – with one saying her food had increased by £15 for a 10kg bag in less than a

The outgoing chief executive of Rightmove is among a pack of contenders to become the next boss of Future, the Marie Claire and Wallpaper publisher. Sky News has learnt that Peter Brooks-Johnson, who will leave the property portal in March, has been shortlisted to succeed Zillah Byng-Thorne, the media group’s veteran chief. Mr Brooks-Johnson is

The Treasury is close to agreeing a £300m aid package for the UK’s second-biggest steel producer in a move aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and averting the loss of thousands of industrial jobs across northern England. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has been advised by officials to approve a request

Google workers in the UK and Ireland face uncertainty after its parent company Alphabet announced 12,000 jobs are to be axed globally. The Silicon Valley giant employs more than 5,000 staff in both countries, but the company would not be drawn on how the mass redundancies would impact them. The “difficult news” about the job

Cost-conscious shoppers curbed spending over the Christmas period adding to the woes of retailers, official figures show. Retail sales unexpectedly fell by 1% in December, the second month of decline, according to the Office for National Statistics. It was far worse than the 0.5% rise predicted by economists. Cost of living latest – Inflation likely

Lloyds Pharmacy is to pull out of 237 in-store Sainsbury’s branches, potentially putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk and exposing the financial pressure on UK pharmacies at the height of the NHS crisis. Lloyds Pharmacy, which bought Sainsbury’s 280-strong pharmacy network in 2015 in a deal worth £125m, said it would close the branches

Argos will shut all of its stores in the Republic of Ireland in June this year, the company said on Thursday, following a “period of careful consideration”. The move is expected to result in 580 employees losing their jobs and the closure of 34 sites across the country. The company, which sells electronics, gadgets, and

Britain’s battery sector has been delivered some unexpected good news, after an Australian billionaire told Sky News he will be opening an advanced battery plant in Oxfordshire later this year, creating up to 300 new jobs. Andrew Forrest, the founder of the Australian iron ore giant Fortescue, said he was expanding operations at WAE Technologies,

Microsoft is preparing to axe thousands of jobs in the latest move by one of the world’s biggest technology companies to reduce its workforce in the face of a slowing global economy. Sky News has learnt that the US software giant could announce plans to cull a significant number of posts around the world within

The rate of inflation eased to 10.5%, according to official figures – down from 10.7% in November. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the reduced cost of motor fuels led to the decline in the core consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation along with cheaper clothing and footwear, and recreation and culture. Pushing