Ocado is drawing up plans that could put up to 1,000 jobs at risk as the retail technology group renews its focus on cutting costs and scaling back its workforce, reports have said.
The business, which runs robotic warehouses for supermarket chains, is in the early stages of talks over redundancies that would amount to about 5% of its global workforce, the Sunday Times reported.
No final decisions have been made and Ocado would consult with its staff over any planned cuts, according to the report.
NatWest Group has agreed to buy wealth management firm Evelyn Partners for £2.7bn, marking the bank’s first major acquisition since returning to private ownership.
The announcement follows reports that the banking group had seen off competition from rival Barclays for the takeover move.
Acquiring Evelyn, one of the UK’s biggest wealth managers, brings together its £69bn in assets under management with NatWest’s £59bn.
A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon stunt vehicle used famously in the latest Mission Impossible – Final Reckoning blockbuster is set to go under the hammer this month.
The car, also known as ‘Ethan 1’, was driven by Hollywood actor, Tom Cruise, and is featured in the film’s ‘mine chase’ sequence.
The car in question is a 2023 example which has been prepared by the British vehicle effect specialists, Auto Action, according to auction house Iconic Auctioneers, who are backing the lot to fetch up to £50,000 when it goes under the hammer on February 21.
Stock prices in London closed higher on Monday, as pressure continues to mount on the Prime Minister after the Scottish Labour leader called for his resignation.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 16.48 points, or 0.2%, at 10,386.23 hours after the leader of Scottish Labour, Anas Sarwar, said that Sir Keir Starmer should quit, in a blow to the Prime Minister’s fragile authority.
In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.6%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 1.2%.
Family-run Glynn Andrews Car Sales in Widnes is closing after 22 years, having entered liquidation. Liquidators were appointed on February 6 following a winding-up order, with assets now to be sold to repay creditors. Customers have praised the dealer’s reputation.
The latest Car Dealer Podcast, recorded live from the NADA show in Las Vegas, is out now. Hosts James Baggott and Jon Reay joined Xpel’s James Leese to discuss AI, dealer tech trends and UK attendance, with full coverage available online.
A drunken burglar who broke into Croxdale Group’s MG Durham dealership has been spared jail. Lex Taylor, 24, stole keys and an iPad, but received a two-year community order with rehabilitation days and costs after pleading guilty at court.
UVeye is helping car dealers keep reconditioning costs down by helping them avoid missed damage.
Sir Keir Starmer told Labour MPs he had ‘won every fight I’ve ever been in’ as he vowed not to ‘walk away’ amid calls for him to resign.
The Prime Minister addressed a packed meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in Westminster on Monday in the wake of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s call for him to step down.
But Sir Keir, flanked by his Cabinet, struck a defiant note, telling MPs: ‘After having fought so hard for the chance to change our country, I’m not prepared to walk away from my mandate and my responsibility to my country, or to plunge us into chaos as others have done.’
The King has made clear his ‘profound concern’ at allegations about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct, with Buckingham Palace saying it will ‘stand ready to support’ the police if approached over the claims.
Thames Valley Police has confirmed it is assessing suggestions that the King’s brother shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The reignited crisis which has engulfed both the monarchy and Westminster has shown little sign of abating since the US authorities’ recent dump of millions of documents associated with the paedophile financier Epstein.
The UK has seen an ‘exceptionally wet’ start to the year with record-breaking rainfall and no sign of a prolonged dry spell for at least a week, forecasters have said.
Nearly 100 areas have been warned to expect flooding as downpours continue, with a yellow weather warning in force in the east of Scotland, after a similar notice for much of southern Wales and England at the start of the week.
The Environment Agency estimates that at least 300 properties have been flooded so far, after a record-breaking month of rain, which became the wettest January on record for Cornwall in south-west England and County Down in Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.