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European Edition
9th May 2025
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THE HOT STORY
Foreign workers are 'a key driver of euro zone growth'
A European Central Bank study says foreign workers are a key driver of growth in the euro zone. Foreign workers have accounted for half of the bloc's labour force growth over the past three years, the ECB said in a blog post written by some of its most senior economists, and are helping to alleviate labour shortages and beginning to make a greater contribution in higher skills jobs as their education levels improve. "The influx of foreign workers in recent years has secured a robust growth in the euro area labour force, which has somewhat offset the negative demographic trends," the blog post argued.
MENTAL HEALTH
UKG on Mental Health and Finding Purpose at Work

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HEALTH & WELLBEING
Spanish workers may soon have 2.5 more hours of weekly rest
Spain's government has approved a bill to reduce the workweek from 40 hours to 37.5 hours, potentially granting workers an additional 2.5 hours of rest each week. The change, which will benefit 12.5m private sector workers, aims to enhance productivity and decrease absenteeism. Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz said: “Today, we are modernising the world of labour and helping people to be a little happier.” The bill, proposed by the left-wing party Sumar (Joining Forces), must now pass through parliament, where it faces scrutiny from various political factions, including concerns from the Catalan nationalist party Junts regarding its impact on small businesses. Spain has maintained a 40-hour workweek since 1983.
WORKFORCE
Trade deal to save thousands of British jobs, Starmer says
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK's "first-of-a-kind" trade deal with the US will save thousands of British jobs, boost local business and protect industry. Sir Keir said "this is a really fantastic, historic day" that will "boost trade between and across our countries." Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "It is a brilliant deal because without the breakthrough on these sectoral tariffs that we've been able to announce today, thousands of people stood to lose their jobs very soon in the UK, and the economic damage to the UK would have been very significant from there." The deal will see tariffs on British car exports to the US fall from 27.5% to 10% for the first 100,000 vehicles per year, the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium will be removed, and the UK’s pharmaceutical industry has been promised "preferential treatment." British beef farmers will be allowed access to the US market and vice versa, with no reduction in food standards in the UK.
Dutch rail strikes are possible again
The FNV trade union in the Netherlands has warned that strikes against the national railway company, NS, are likely after negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed. FNV board member Henri Janssen said: “If the members are ready to take action, then we will give the NS an ultimatum and prepare ourselves to organise strikes.” The union is demanding a 4% wage increase for NS workers, while the current offer from NS stands at 2.55%, which the FNV deems insufficient because of current inflation rates. The CNV union has also halted negotiations, with negotiator Henk Jongsma indicating that the NS's latest offer is inadequate. The NS has expressed a desire to continue negotiations, saying: "As far as we are concerned, negotiations have not yet been completed."
STRATEGY
Stellantis to cut up to 500 jobs at Italy's Melfi plant, union says
Stellantis is to cut up to 500 jobs through voluntary exits at its Melfi assembly plant in southern Italy, the Fiom-Cgil union has said. The announcement follows news of a similar voluntary redundancy plan for a total of 350 jobs at two other local facilities, in Pomigliano and Pratola Serra. "It seems that a real plan to divest from Italy is taking shape. For these reasons, Fiom-Cgil has not signed the layoffs," said Samuele Lodi of Fiom-Cgil. The Melfi plant employs around 5,000 people.
WORKPLACE
BlackRock demands full office return
Investment management giant BlackRock has mandated that its approximately 1,000 senior managers return to the office five days a week. The directive follows a previous requirement for all staff to work in the office at least four days a week. Larry Fink, BlackRock's co-founder and chairman, has previously voiced concerns about maintaining company culture, saying: "Cultures were not meant to be done in a remote fashion." The shift back to in-office work reflects a broader trend among major companies, including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, as the hiring market tightens.
TECHNOLOGY
French start-up Mistral launches chatbot for companies
Paris-based start-up Mistral AI has launched its Le Chat chatbot for corporate use. The open source version of the assistant was launched in February; the enterprise version now connects with content management systems including Microsoft's SharePoint and Google Drive. Mistral operates its own compute capabilities and is reducing its dependency on cloud providers to allow it to offer customers a service that does not depend on the U.S. companies, CEO Arthur Mensch said. "In the last 100 days we have tripled our business, in particular in Europe and outside of the U.S.," he said, adding "We've been . . .  growing in the U.S. quite fast as well."
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION
Novo Nordisk abandons US gender goals
Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has announced that it will no longer enforce gender representation requirements for senior leadership roles in its US operations, citing changes in legal requirements following executive orders from President Trump aimed at halting diversity initiatives. Despite this shift, the company maintains its global goal of achieving at least 45% gender representation by the end of 2025. Novo Nordisk's decision aligns it with other European pharmaceutical companies that have also adjusted their diversity policies in response to the evolving legal landscape in the US.
SUSTAINABILITY
Spanish PM doubles down on net zero after blackout
In his first remarks to parliament on last week’s Iberian power cut, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said he will not deviate “a single millimetre” from his commitment to renewable energy, in a response to critics who blamed the blackout on the country’s dependence on wind and solar power. “There is not empirical evidence telling us that the incident was caused by an excess of renewable energy sources or from a lack of nuclear power,” he said to parliament on Wednesday. Responding to calls for his administration to reverse course on scrapping nuclear power stations, Sánchez said advocates of nuclear power were using the blackout as an excuse for a “gigantic manipulation exercise.” He said: “Not a single serious study says nuclear power is essential for Spain . . . In Spain, the future of energy lies in other sources such as hydroelectric, solar, wind and green hydrogen. Renewables are not only the future; they are our only choice.”
INTERNATIONAL
Investors sue UnitedHealth over response to exec's killing
UnitedHealth is being sued by investors over its response to the December killing of top executive Brian Thompson. They claim UnitedHealth misled them by allegedly withholding information on how the company was being affected by a backlash prompted by its response to the incident. In the proposed class action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York, investor Roberto Faller alleges UnitedHealth "artificially inflated prices" when it initially forecast earnings per share of $29.50 to $30 in December.  That outlook was reaffirmed by the company in January, despite growing criticism following an October Senate report on its high rate of claim denials and, later, Thompson's killing.
Israeli teachers 'must stop taking sick days to protest salary cuts'
The Tel Aviv Labor Court has ordered teachers who have been protesting salary cuts by taking sick days to return to work. In its ruling, the court said individual or non-union groups of teachers cannot legally strike against a Finance Ministry decision to cut public sector salaries by 3.3% amid the war in Gaza, and must stop taking “non-authentic” sick days. The ruling did not comment on a ministry order to withhold pay from teachers who took sick days.
OTHER
Nordics and Estonia launch offline card payment back-up
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Estonia are planning to launch offline card payment systems to provide back-up if internet connections are cut, including due to sabotage. Bank of Finland board member Tuomas Valimaki said the planned roll out comes after the Baltic Sea region has experienced several instances of unexplained damage to critical undersea infrastructure in recent years. Russia has been accused by Western intelligence services of committing various acts of sabotage. "Since card payments require functioning international data links, Finland must be prepared for interruptions. Many other countries are of course in the same situation," Valimaki said, adding Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia were also planning to introduce offline card payments.
 


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