Business
University staff to vote on strikes over pay
Thousands of university staff are to be balloted for strikes in a dispute over pay.
The University and College Union (UCU) said 65,000 of its members working in universities across the UK will vote in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.
The union said employers had refused to increase a 1.4% pay offer.
The UCU said it has started preparations for an aggregated UK-wide ballot of its members, covering 138 institutions, which it expects to open on October 20.
It warned of co-ordinated industrial action with other unions representing university staff in the new year.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “University employers are now on notice that we will launch a UK-wide pay ballot with the potential for co-ordinated strike action that will cause maximum disruption on campus.
“Our members, not vice-chancellors, are the people who support students, create teaching materials, conduct world-leading research and keep universities running; we are the university.
“Employers now need to recognise that imposing a 1.4% pay award, when inflation is still soaring, is a significant real-terms pay cut and an insult to hard-working higher education staff.
“It’s time for them to come back to the table with an improved offer that will settle this dispute and avoid the need for a strike ballot and potential industrial action.”
Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), said: “Our sector and its students will be concerned about yet another trade union-generated ballot for industrial action.
“UCU’s Higher Education Committee (HEC) took this decision over a week ago, informing their members and HE institutions today.
“EIS, GMB, Unite and Unison, will also be proceeding with statutory ballots for industrial action.
“It is palpably clear that the sector’s HE institutions cannot afford to improve the uplift.
“The sector is grappling with reduced income because of a decline in overseas students, increased costs for employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and an increase of over £370 million in employer National Insurance Contributions.
“UCEA has already begun to deliver on the other elements of our extensive final pay offer. This included progress on our proposals for joint work with the unions to further reduce pay gaps, and to promote good practice on contract types and workload.
“Employers take these issues extremely seriously. But they also take seriously the threat of industrial action and will have measures in place to mitigate the impact on students.”
Business
Jaguar Land Rover losses deepen after crippling cyber attack
Jaguar Land Rover has plunged to a £310m pre-tax loss in its third quarter, as the luxury car manufacturer continues to grapple with the financial repercussions of a major cyber attack last autumn.
It marks a significant downturn from the £523m profit reported a year earlier.
The cyber incident alone incurred an additional £64m in costs, contributing significantly to the downturn.
The attack forced a five-week production halt across the company’s UK factories from 1 September.
It severely impacted sales volumes and caused revenues to tumble by 39 per cent year-on-year to £4.5bn in the final three months of 2023.
Production only returned to normal levels in mid-November.
Compounding those losses were ongoing US tariffs, the planned discontinuation of older Jaguar models ahead of new launches, and deteriorating market conditions in China.
Despite the setbacks, the group anticipates a marked improvement in its performance during its final quarter.
New JLR chief executive PB Balaji, who took over from former boss Adrian Mardell in November, said it was a “challenging quarter for JLR with performance impacted by the production shutdown we initiated in response to the cyber incident, the planned wind down of legacy Jaguar and US tariffs”.
He added: “Thanks to the commitment of our dedicated teams, we returned vehicle production to normal levels by mid-November, and we are focused on building our business back stronger.
“While the external environment remains volatile, we expect performance to improve significantly in the fourth quarter and we have clear plans to manage global challenges.”
JLR’s latest losses come after it slumped into the red by £485m in the previous three months following a 24 per cent drop in revenues, bringing its losses for the year to date to £444 against profits of £1.6bn a year earlier.
It previously booked £196m of costs linked to the cyber attack in its second quarter.
It is understood this included the cost of hiring consultants to help it deal with the incident, but not the impact of lost sales and other costs, such as increases in engineering costs.
Business
Retailer Quiz becomes latest firm to hit the wall with 109 jobs axed
Fashion retailer Quiz has become the latest firm to collapse into administration with 109 head office and warehouse staff being made redundant and hundreds more at risk.
Administrators Interpath said the chain’s 40 stores across the UK and seven concessions in Ireland will continue to trade while they look at options for the firm but its website will shut.
They said 109 redundancies are being made across the firm’s head office in Glasgow and its warehouse and distribution centre in Bellshill, Lanarkshire.
Interpath confirmed that Quiz concessions in New Look and Matalan stores in the UK are not included in the administration and remain unaffected.
Quiz employs 565 workers in total.
It marks the second time Quiz has fallen into administration in a year, having collapsed in February 2025 before immediately being bought in a so-called pre-pack deal by a subsidiary of the founding Ramzan family.
The deal at the time saw Orion buy a raft of assets, including the Quiz brand and 42 of its shops, but 23 stores were shut in a move affecting 200 jobs.
Alistair McAlinden, head of Interpath in Scotland and joint administrator, said: “With Quiz the latest retailer to fall into administration, there’s no doubt it’s been a tough start to 2026 for the UK high street.
“It’s our intention to continue to trade all stores and the concessions in Ireland as a going concern for as long as we can while we assess options for the business.”
Geoff Jacobs, fellow joint administrator and managing director at Interpath, added: “Any parties with an interest in acquiring the stock, store operations and infrastructure of Quiz should contact us as a matter of urgency.
“We are ensuring that those employees impacted by redundancy are provided with all available support at this difficult time.”
Interpath said Quiz had suffered amid tough trading conditions over the past year, with sales weaker than expected over the crucial Christmas season.
“In addition, Quiz had to contend with strong economic headwinds including changing consumer habits, cost pressures from business rates and the recent increases to employment costs,” it added.
The firm looked at options to secure its future, including additional funding, but efforts failed, according to Interpath.
The administrators confirmed gift cards and credit notes will no longer being accepted, while those with online returns will need to do so in a Quiz store for exchange, but cannot receive cash or card refunds.
Shoppers who have made returns online but not received the money will “regrettably, not receive a refund from Quiz”.
Customers should contact the provider of the credit or debit card which was used for the payment and ask for assistance.
Business
Peloton posts weak holiday quarter after splashy product overhaul fails to land
Peloton posted a worse-than-expected holiday quarter on Thursday after shoppers failed to shell out for its new AI-driven product line and turned away from higher subscription prices.
The connected fitness company missed Wall Street’s estimates on the top and bottom lines and fell short of its own internal sales targets in the three months ended Dec. 31 – typically the strongest for Peloton’s hardware revenue.
The company said it expects sluggish sales to continue in the current quarter. Peloton forecasts revenue between $605 million and $625 million, below expectations of $638 million, according to LSEG.
The weak results, coupled with soft guidance, are the first clues investors have that Peloton’s product overhaul may not be the sales driver the company hoped it would be. Peloton’s stock dropped as much as 13% in premarket trading following the results.
The revamped assortment, which came with artificial intelligence-powered tracking cameras, speakers, 360-degree swivel screens and hands-free control, was designed to grow sales and bring in new customers. But Peloton’s results show demand has been sluggish.
While Peloton’s top line might be disappointing to investors, the company is still making gains in improving its profitability. Over the holiday quarter, the company generated $81 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, better than the $73 million analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.
After it announced plans to lay off 11% of its staff last week, the company expects to generate between $120 million and $135 million in adjusted EBITDA in the current quarter, better than the $119 million analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.
It raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $450 million and $500 million, up from a prior range of between $425 million and $475 million.
That’s welcome news to investors because it shows Peloton was able to innovate its product line without draining profitability.
Also on Thursday, the company announced CFO Liz Coddington is leaving Peloton to “pursue an opportunity outside the industry.” She’s staying on through March as the company searches for its next finance chief.
Here’s how Peloton did in its fiscal second quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Loss per share: 9 cents vs. 6 cents expected
- Revenue: $657 million vs. $674 million expected
The company’s net loss for the quarter was $38.8 million, or 9 cents per share, a significant improvement from the $92 million, or 24 cents per share, it lost in the year ago period.
Sales fell to $656.5 million, down about 3% from $673.9 million a year earlier.
Since Peter Stern took over as Peloton’s CEO, he’s worked to generate new revenue streams and build on the company’s progress of improving its profitability.
The revamped product assortment was one of his first big moments as CEO and included new prices for both subscriptions and hardware. Despite higher prices, revenue for both hardware and subscription came in lower than expected, indicating unit sales have been weak.
Hardware sales drove $244 million in revenue during the quarter while subscriptions saw $413 million in sales, both below expectations of $253 million and $424 million, respectively, according to StreetAccount.
In a statement, Stern focused on the company’s profitability improvements and said he’s seeing “positive momentum” across the business.
“Our second quarter represented the most substantial period of innovation at Peloton since our founding. At the same time, our financial performance demonstrated our continued operational discipline, resulting in 39% year-over-year growth in Adjusted EBITDA and reducing Net Debt by 52% year-over-year, proving we can simultaneously innovate and increase our profitability,” said Stern. “Our subscription base is highly committed, our integrated Commercial Business Unit is growing and well-positioned to continue doing so, and Member engagement with Peloton IQ is encouraging.”
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