THE HOT STORY

Israeli website creator Wix cuts 1,000 jobs

Wix, the Israeli firm which helps small businesses build and operate websites, will lay off 20% of its workforce due to financial challenges stemming from the shekel's strength against the dollar. Chief executive Avishai Abrahami said the company's costs are in shekels while revenues are in dollars, creating unsustainable operational pressures. Additionally, the rise of artificial intelligence has rendered some positions redundant. Abrahami noted that new roles, such as "Xengineer and Creator," will be introduced, and these have been "designed from the ground up around AI-native ways of working." Abrahami explained: "We are moving to a structure with fewer levels between any member of our leadership and the most junior person on the team. Fewer layers means faster decisions, clearer ownership, and less distance between the people setting direction and the people building the product - but it also means a smaller number of people."

The Jerusalem Post

WORKFORCE

Good HR matters - despite what its critics think

Writing in the Times, Harry Wallop says "People could not contain their glee" when they heard that Ryan Breslow, the co-founder and chief executive of American fintech company Bolt, fired his entire human resources team. HR were "creating problems that did not exist," Bolt had said. Wallop notes that in 2021, Greg Jackson, the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy, the UK's biggest consumer energy provider, said he had no time for HR, arguing that large companies "infantilise" their employees and "drown creative people in process and bureaucracy." But LinkedIn suggests that this very successful company still employs a large number of people in its "people operations" team, and Wallop observes that "Good HR matters . . . Every large company should have one."

The Times

TECHNOLOGY

OpenAI Foundation commits $250m to help workers navigate AI disruption

The OpenAI Foundation, the non-profit that controls the AI start-up, has said it will grant $250m to promote research into AI’s impact on the economy and jobs. The ‌funds will support research into AI's impact on the labour market, support workers and communities facing near-term displacement and explore new ways to distribute economic gains from the technology more broadly. "The current pace of change means the window to get ⁠this right is shorter than we're used to, and the cost of getting it wrong is profound," OpenAI said in a statement.

Financial Times

NPR

Reuters

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Ebola epidemic in Congo outpaces global response

Interviews with global health officials and documents from a meeting led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday suggest the rapidly-spreading Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is outpacing the world's response. Documents from the virtual meeting show that, as of last week, only 7% of the 1,261 people identified as contacts of suspected Ebola patients had been located and followed up. The WHO put the number at more than 2,000 on ⁠Wednesday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus observed that "Attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible."

Reuters

ECONOMY

Qatar's retailers report strong Eid shopping demand

Shopping malls and markets across Qatar experienced a significant surge in activity as families rushed to complete their Eid purchases. Retailers launched extensive promotions, leading to increased footfall in major shopping destinations like City Center Doha and Villaggio Mall. Experts noted that consumer spending peaks in the final hours before Eid, with Souq Waqif becoming a popular spot for traditional sweets and gifts. Tailors also reported high demand for custom-made Eid attire, working overtime to meet orders. Shopkeepers stocked a variety of products to cater to diverse budgets, contributing to a vibrant retail economy during this festive season.

Gulf Times

INTERNATIONAL

London’s expats stunned by extreme heat

Bloomberg reports that expats to London, such as Vanessa Chan, who moved to the UK capital from Hong Kong, are struggling with the current extreme early-season heat and a lack of solutions to help Londoners deal with high temperatures. “The whole infrastructure in the UK is not designed for the heat,” Chan says. In London, “there’s nowhere to retreat to. It’s hot outside and then it’s even hotter inside,” observes Dimple Rana, heat resilience leader at buildings consultancy Arup. The UK's Climate Change Committee recently advised that air conditioning should be part of the country's plan for more active cooling, particularly in places with vulnerable people.

Bloomberg

Russia to allow banks to arm themselves against Ukrainian drones

Russia has adopted a law allowing the central bank, the country's biggest bank Sberbank, and the Russian Cash Collection Association - the country’s largest carrier of cash and valuables - to shoot down Ukrainian drones. Employees at those institutions would be permitted to be ‌armed and to operate the systems used to down unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) attacks without the involvement of special forces. Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov said: “Firstly, jamming will be used to make it more difficult for [the UAVs] to target and attack the relevant targets . . . Plus, we’ll also use means to shoot down these drones, thereby protecting the relevant targets,” adding that institutions would pay for the drone defence systems themselves. “If it’s the central bank, then the central bank will pay; if it’s Sberbank, then Sberbank will pay,” Aksakov said.

CNBC

Financial Times

Reuters

Job ad for shepherds exposes China's labour market strains

Zuo Xiaoyong, a Chinese farm owner, received over 700 applications when he advertised for two shepherd positions in remote grasslands. His job ad went viral, attracting white-collar workers, factory employees, and recent graduates, underscoring the challenges in China's tight job market. Zuo observed that many applicants were struggling with debt and difficult working conditions. The reaction to the job posting was “symptomatic of what continues to be a highly competitive and often low-rewarding labour market,” said Lynn Song, chief China economist at ING. “Urban jobs are becoming less attractive and more rare.” Zuo eventually hired four shepherds - two couples - who all had previously worked on a farm.

Straits Times

Panama law imposes stricter requirements on multinational firms

Panama's National Assembly has approved a law that requires ‌multinational companies domiciled in the country to demonstrate genuine local operations, including qualified personnel, adequate facilities and strategic decision-making, or face a 15% tax on passive foreign income. "At the fiscal level, it requires multinationals to demonstrate that they have physical operations and real activity in a country, beyond just seeking tax advantage," the National Assembly said. The law aims to satisfy European Union tax transparency requirements ⁠and support Panama’s removal from EU monitoring lists.

Reuters

OTHER

Putin signs law on use of army abroad

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law which allows him to deploy the military to overseas countries to aid Russian citizens who have been detained or face prosecution. Bloomberg says it’s not immediately clear in what circumstances the Kremlin would invoke the law, but its adoption comes as Western governments step up efforts to curb Russia’s so-called shadow fleet carrying crude oil.

Bloomberg

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