Connect with us

Business

Royal Mail to take on 20,000 new workers over busy festive period

Published

on

Royal Mail to take on 20,000 new workers over busy festive period



Royal Mail has announced plans to recruit approximately 20,000 temporary workers to bolster its delivery operations during the busy Christmas period.

The postal service confirmed that the new positions will be spread across two parcel hubs, four seasonal parcel sorting centres, and 37 mail centres throughout the country. This significant hiring drive is intended to help the company manage the expected surge in demand around key shopping events, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the festive season.

Specifically, 12,000 mail centre sorting roles will be available in England, with an additional 2,000 in Scotland, 600 in Wales, and 400 in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, Royal Mail will be recruiting for 3,000 delivery and collection roles across the UK, alongside 2,000 temporary HGV and MGV driver positions.

Royal Mail will set up four extra seasonal sorting centres in Atherstone, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Daventry to help it fulfil deliveries.

Jamie Stephenson, Royal Mail interim chief operating officer, said: “As we do every year, we will be pulling out all the stops to make Christmas special for our customers.

“It’s the busiest time for us, and we work tirelessly behind the scenes – planning months in advance – to ensure everything runs smoothly.

“From delivering festive parcels to supporting online shopping, we’re investing heavily in extra resources, including thousands of seasonal team members, to help make sure every delivery arrives on time and with care.”

The seasonal roles will run from late October through to early January 2026.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

YouTube to pay $24.5m to settle Trump lawsuit over Capitol riot

Published

on

YouTube to pay .5m to settle Trump lawsuit over Capitol riot


YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5m (£18.6m) to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump, filed after the video platform suspended his account in the wake of the 6 January attack on US Capitol.

The settlement from the video streaming giant’s parent company Alphabet – which also owns Google – comes after social media sites X/Twitter and Facebook also agreed to pay Trump for suspending his accounts.

Trump had accused YouTube and other tech companies of political bias, claiming they had unfairly censored conservative voices after the Capitol riot in 2021.

At the time of his suspension, social media companies said that Trump risked inciting further violence in Washington DC.

As part of Monday’s settlement, YouTube will pay $22m to the Trust for the National Mall, a non-profit group that is aiming to raise $200m to build a new ballroom at the White House.

Another $2.5m will be paid to other organisations and individuals who joined Trump’s lawsuit, including the American Conservative Union.

YouTube is the latest major platform to settle with the president.

In January, Facebook’s parent company Meta agreed to a $25m settlement – with $22m earmarked for Trump’s presidential library.

A month later, social media platform X – a company that was purchased by Trump ally Elon Musk in 2022 – settled for a reported $10m.

All of Mr Trump’s social media accounts have since been reinstated.

The settlements come as Silicon Valley has generally taken a more conciliatory tone towards the president. The CEOs of Alphabet, Meta and X all sat in the front row for his inauguration, signalling a shift in relations between the Republican Party and the tech sector.

The social media giants have also taken measures to loosen content moderation on their platforms which Republicans had claimed amounted to a violation of free speech.

Last week, YouTube said it planned to restore several accounts that had been banned for repeatedly making false claims about Covid and the 2020 presidential election.

“YouTube values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse,” the company wrote to a Republican-controlled congressional committee, explaining the decision.



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

India-Russia trade ties: MoS Pabitra Margherita to visit Moscow; talks and apparel fair on agenda – The Times of India

Published

on

India-Russia trade ties: MoS Pabitra Margherita to visit Moscow; talks and apparel fair on agenda – The Times of India


Minister of state for external affairs and textiles, Pabitra Margherita will travel to Moscow this week for meetings with Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and leading entrepreneurs from the textile and apparel sector, the Textile Ministry said on Monday.The visit, scheduled from October 1 to 3, comes at a time when India is scouting markets across 40 countries to expand textile exports after the US imposed 50% tariffs on Indian apparel, along with a 25% penalty on New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases.According to the ministry, the visit underscores India’s push to strengthen trade and cultural ties with Russia and to diversify markets for its textile exports, PTI reported. “These engagements will bolster bilateral trade, encourage market diversification, and enhance people-to-people linkages between the two countries,” it said.Margherita, who also holds charge as Minister of State for External Affairs, will inaugurate the “Best of India – Indian Apparel and Textile Fair” in Moscow. The event will showcase products from more than 100 Indian companies spanning handlooms, handicrafts, home furnishings, carpets, linens, apparel, and garments.The exhibition and buyer-seller meet is expected to draw around 1,000 domestic and international buyers, creating opportunities for Indian exporters to deepen their presence in Russia and other CIS markets.“The fair will serve as a strategic gateway for Indian exporters to expand in Russia and CIS markets, while also strengthening collaboration between Indian and Russian businesses,” the ministry said.





Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Trump renews threat to impose 100% tariffs on non-US made movies

Published

on

Trump renews threat to impose 100% tariffs on non-US made movies


Donald Trump has repeated his threat to impose a 100% tariff on all films not made in the US, claiming the American industry had been “stolen” by other countries.

He said on Monday that California had been heavily affected and the levy would “solve this long time, never ending problem”.

In May, the US president said he would talk to Hollywood executives about his plan and to begin the process of imposing the levy because America’s film industry was dying “a very fast death”.

Trump’s remarks come as he announced a new wave of tariffs last week, including a 100% levy on branded or patented drug imports as well as 50% levies on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform: “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’

“California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!”

He said the 100% tariff would be imposed “on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States”.

Trump did not say when the tariff will come into force. The White House has been approached for a comment.

It was also unclear if the tariffs would apply to films on streaming services, such as Netflix, as well as those shown at cinemas, or how they would be calculated.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, questioned how such a tax would work given tariffs are typically imposed on goods and said many filmmakers were choosing to shoot films in other countries because of better incentives.

“The threat of 100% tariffs on movies made outside of the US raises more questions than it does answers,” he said.

“Filmmakers have been progressively lured by tax incentives that come from shooting movies in other parts of the world, and the Los Angeles film industry has lost its glitz and glamour.”

Mr Coatsworth said it would be difficult to define an American-made movie if a film were to be shot in the US but have foreign actors, directors, or funding.

“So it’s hard to understand just how Trump intends to impose the levy,” he said.

“Theoretically, being forced to produce movies in the US could push up their costs.

“Content makers would pass on this cost to the customer and that could hurt demand for streaming companies and cinema operators.”

He said investors did not “appear to see this as a serious threat” at present. Stocks for companies such as Netflix and Disney dipped briefly, then bounced back.

Several recent major films produced by US studios were shot outside of America, including Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked and Gladiator II.

The US remains a major film production hub globally despite challenges, according to movie industry research firm ProdPro.

Its annual report showed the country saw $14.54bn (£10.94bn) of production spending last year. But that was down by 26% since 2022.

Countries that have attracted an increase in spending since 2022 include Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending