6th November 2022
Bite-sized business news from the UK and beyond
Good morning
Today's stories
- Global climate conference kicks off
- Musk’s eventful Twitter reign continues with mass layoffs
ENVIRONMENT
Global climate conference kicks off
What happened?
The UN’s annual climate summit, COP27, began yesterday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh with 200 nations gathering to negotiate on climate actions over two weeks.
The concept of ‘loss and damage’ is set to be a major talking point
This year, thousands of people died and millions lost their homes in devastating floods in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sudan and Pakistan, examples of how climate change is impacting people’s lives known as loss and damage — costs already being incurred from climate-fuelled weather extremes that cannot be mitigated or adapted to.
It can often be an emotive topic at climate talks because there is no agreement yet over what should count and who should pay.
Many developing countries have come to COP27 asking for a loss and damage compensation fund. The world’s wealthier nations are uncomfortable with this agenda. One of the concerns is that accepting it opens the doors to billions of pounds in what many call “reparations.”
The year since the last conference has been tumultuous
While last year’s COP26 in Glasgow was generally considered a success, governments have since been preoccupied with the war in Ukraine and inflation, and haven’t been following through on their climate pledges. So the mood entering the summit is pretty sour. Ultimately, though, the energy shock caused by the war in Ukraine could speed up the transition to renewables.
Other stories to keep you in the loop
- National Insurance rise reversed from today
- Travellers still face rail disruption despite strikes being called off
- US job growth strong in October, but cracks emerging
- Made.com expected to go into administration this week
- HSBC customers unable to pay for meals and shopping during online banking outage
TECH
Musk’s eventful Twitter reign continues with mass layoffs
What happened?
Barely a week since Elon Musk closed his $44bn acquisition of Twitter, he began sweeping job cuts laying off roughly half of the company’s 7,500 workforce on Friday. The new owner and CEO called the cuts necessary to improve financial position.
The process was chaotic
On Thursday night, Twitter sent out a company-wide email that told employees they would be informed of their job status via email. Ahead of the cuts, Twitter temporarily closed its offices and blocked workers from accessing internal tools.
A number of laid-off staff responded with a class-action lawsuit, alleging it violated both federal and California (where Twitter is based) state laws by failing to provide adequate warning ahead of a mass firing.
All the turbulence is scaring advertisers
Major advertising partners including Pfizer and Volkswagen have paused spending on the platform. Musk acknowledged the advertiser exodus, tweeting that the platform has seen a huge drop in revenue due to “activist groups pressuring advertisers.”
Looking ahead…with advertisers jumping ship, Musk is in a race against time to secure new revenue sources. To make up the gap, Twitter has launched a $8/month subscription plan to verify accounts. The new boss has also called on the remaining staff to develop plans to cut up to $1bn in costs, including potential reductions in server and cloud services.
Stat of the day
Interesting links from around the web
- Should you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?
- The rise of millionaire LinkedIn influencers
- What it’s like making (and then losing) $1.2m on meme stocks
