News

Poundland has closed 149 stores and cut 2,200 jobs as part of a sweeping turnaround plan aimed at stabilising the business after a period of heavy losses and declining sales. The discount retailer said the closures mark the final phase of a restructuring programme launched last year, following a collapse into the red that was blamed on weak trading conditions and an unpopular overhaul of its clothing ranges. Poundland was bought for £1 from Pepco...

Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett are among hundreds of actors, musicians and writers backing a new campaign accusing artificial intelligence companies of unlawfully exploiting creative work to train their systems. The campaign, titled “Stealing Isn’t Innovation”, launched on Thursday with the support of around 800 creative professionals, including the band R.E.M. and bestselling author Jodi Picoult. In a joint statement, the signatories accuse technology companies of using copyrighted material “without authorisation or regard for copyright...

The Bank of England is accelerating the expansion of its Leeds operation as part of a wider drive to cut costs, reduce headcount and overhaul its London estate. Under new plans approved by the Bank’s court of directors, half of all external recruitment will now be based in Leeds, as governors push to meet a long-standing commitment to station 500 staff in the city by 2027 – roughly one in ten of the Bank’s total...

The government has made a £25 million investment in Kraken Technologies in a bid to persuade the fast-growing artificial intelligence business to list in London rather than New York. The investment, made by the British Business Bank, is the state lender’s largest direct commitment to a single company to date and forms part of Kraken’s wider $1 billion funding round ahead of its demerger from Octopus Energy. Ministers hope the backing will help anchor the...

Amazon is preparing to cut thousands more jobs as part of a sweeping overhaul driven by artificial intelligence and internal restructuring, according to reports. The world’s largest retailer is expected to announce a second round of layoffs as soon as next week, following the removal of 14,000 white-collar roles in October. The latest cuts are expected to be of a similar scale, taking Amazon closer to its longer-term goal of shedding around 30,000 positions. The...