Category: Syndicated

The head of Germany’s largest trade union has proposed a four-day week to protect jobs threatened by digitalisation and the coronavirus-induced economic slump. Jorg Hofmann, head of IG Metall, said he planned to negotiate the reduced working hours for his members in wage talks with major players in the German automotive and mechanical parts sectors. […]

The aviation industry is staring into a winter of devastation but the answer could lie in colder climes. An Alaska-style safe travel model could be utilised, amid warnings Irish airports desperately need support measures for the crippled aviation sector. Traffic has collapsed by 97pc at Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Ireland West-Knock airports since the pandemic […]

The technology sector will have recovered from the effects of the coronavirus and lockdown by the end of this year, but retail will not see 2019 levels of activity until beyond 2025. Overall, the economy here will not recover to its 2019 size until 2023 and Northern Ireland’s will take a further year return to […]

Deloitte has released it latest State of the Consumer Tracker which shows consumer confidence holding steady into July, with Ireland now in second place in Europe for consumer confidence in visiting stores in person. This is the latest of the new bi-weekly survey, which tracks Irish consumers’ attitudes towards personal well-being, financial concerns, travel and […]

Applications have opened for the Government’s Restart Grant Plus Scheme after the maximum grant available was raised to €25,000. Businesses that have suffered a 25% loss of expected turnover between April 1 and June 30 can apply for the funding if they have less than 250 employees and turnover of less than €25m. Eligible companies […]

Britain’s economy shrank by a record 20.4 per cent between April and June, when the coronavirus lockdown was tightest, the largest contraction reported by any major economy so far, according to official figures published on Wednesday. The data also showed the world’s sixth-biggest economy entered a recession as it shrank for a second quarter in […]

Dublin’s Digital Hub, which is home to more than 70 companies, has warned it may need to seek emergency funding from the State as Covid-19 impacts its finances. According to briefing notes recently prepared for Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, the Digital Hub Development Agency alerted his department in April of the effect of the […]

In these turbulent times, many firms are viewing the period of disruption as an opportunity to reassess and improve how they care for and develop employees – and ultimately build better organisations. Irish talent tech firms are supporting HR and organisational development departments at global firms as they examine how a push for employee development, […]

The unemployment rate fell to 16.7pc last month as thousands of employees returned to work. New official figures show that the rate fell by over 6pc in July from 23.1pc in June. However, unemployment is still over 10pc higher than it was before the crisis when the economy was close to full employment. Article Source: […]

More than one fifth of Irish pension savers have reduced contributions to their scheme during the Covid-19 outbreak. Irish pension savers are three times more likely than those in the UK to have stopped or reduced pension contributions during the period, according to a survey by State Street Global Advisors (SSGA). Globally, most people surveyed […]