Elon Musk on Twitter, via PAElon Musk on Twitter, via PA

News Round-Up

Nov 5: Musk sacks Twitter staff; Audi halts SUVs; Sunak fights inlfation; Rail strikes suspended

  • Here are the headlines on Saturday, November 5

Time 6:53 am, November 5, 2022

Elon Musk: Sacked Twitter employees offered three-month payoff

Twitter employees who lost their jobs have been offered a three month payoff, according to Elon Musk, who said the company is losing more than $4m (£3.5m) a day.

The social media company began widespread staff cuts around the world on Friday, with suggestions as many as half of its more than 7,500 staff could be axed.

Its head of safety later said jobs cuts have affected about 15 per cent of the trust and safety department, as opposed to approximately 50 per cent of cuts company-wide.


Inflation is the number one enemy, says Sunak

Rishi Sunak has said inflation is the ‘number one enemy’, as he vowed to rebuild trust in the Government following Liz Truss’s calamitous tenure in No 10.

The Prime Minister said he is doing everything he can to ;grip’ the issue and limit rises in mortgage repayments, as the Bank of England is forced to put up interest rates to curb rising prices.

On Thursday, the Bank warned the country is facing the longest recession in a century as it hiked base rates by 0.75 percentage points to three per cent – their highest level in 15 years.


Rail strikes suspended after ‘promise of pay offer’

A series of planned strikes by railway workers in a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions has been suspended.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union had been due to stage 24-hour walkouts on Saturday and next Monday and Wednesday.

The RMT said it has secured ‘unconditional’ talks on Network Rail and the promise of a pay offer from the train operating companies.

FTSE 100 buoyed by mining gains amid China reopening speculation

European stocks enjoyed a boost on Friday, closing the week on a high amid reports that China is mulling over reopening its economy.

The FTSE 100 closed the day up 2.03 per cent, or 146.21 points, at 7,334.84.

Investors in Germany’s top index were in particularly good spirits as the Dax jumped by more than three at its highs of the day. It closed 2.5 per cent higher, while the French Cac 40 lifted by an impressive 2.85 per cent.

Friday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed

Audi pauses sales of its largest hybrid SUVs

Audi has confirmed that its two largest plug-in hybrid SUVs have been temporarily taken on sale as the brand struggles with ongoing supply issues.

The two models – the Q7 TFSI e and Q8 TFSI e – haven’t been on sale for all that long, but the cars are now not included on the Audi UK website, and not available on the configurator.

These two plug-in hybrids both use the same 3.0-litre V6 petrol-electric powertrain, offering around 30 miles of pure-electric driving to a charge, and are popular company cars because of their low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK), which is based on CO2 emissions.


Read the full story here.

UK Covid levels fall for first time since start of September, new data shows

Total Covid-19 infections in the UK have dropped for the first time since the start of September, though levels are continuing to rise in Northern Ireland, new data shows.

Covid-19 infections have fallen in England and Wales while the trend is uncertain in Scotland, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

The total number of people in private households in the UK testing positive for coronavirus stood at 1.87 million in the week to October 24, down eight per cent on 2.05 million in the previous week.

Residents say Jenrick ‘shocked’ by scale of migrants arriving in Dover area

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was ‘shocked’ by the scale of migrants arriving in Dover communities after landing on nearby beaches in small boats, local residents have said.

Mr Jenrick spent about an hour on Friday listening to stories of families with local MP Natalie Elphicke as he visited homes in Aycliffe.

It comes after Ms Elphicke criticised Home Secretary Suella Braverman a day earlier for failing to send an official to the south-east coast to better understand the situation first hand.

Weather outlook…

Today, spells of rain will push eastwards across the UK. Northern Ireland and Scotland will see rain clearing to leave sunshine later, but patchy rain will linger across much of England and Wales, the BBC reports.

Tonight, spells of rain will clear eastwards from southern areas, but will linger in the far south-east. Northern parts will start clear and dry, but sharp showers will then move in from the west.

Tomorrow, there will be a mix of variable cloud, sunny intervals and scattered showers for many, these locally heavy and thundery. The far south-east will see more persistent spells of rain at times.

Jack Williams's avatar

Jack joined the Car Dealer team in 2021 as a staff writer. He previously worked as a national newspaper journalist for BNPS Press Agency. He has provided news and motoring stories for a number of national publications including The Sun, The Times and The Daily Mirror.



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