Tag: talks

British Airways and union in further talks to avert strikes

British Airways and union in further talks to avert strikes

Further talks have taken place at conciliation service, ACAS, between British Airways (BA) and the Unite union in the latest bid to avert strikes by the airline’s cabin crew members. Cabin crew have been in a long-running dispute with the airline over cost-cutting measures, which include a pay freeze, a switch to part-time working for [...]

400 more jobs to go at London Underground

400 more jobs to go at London Underground

London Underground (LU) has today announced it will axe a further 400 office and management jobs. LU says it is reviewing all non-frontline services in a bid to cut costs. The announcement comes after unions were enraged over the loss of 800 ticket office jobs, which has led to industrial action on the underground. Two [...]

HSBC in takeover talks with South Africa’s Nedbank

HSBC in takeover talks with South Africa’s Nedbank

Banking giant HSBC is in talks with South African insurer Old Mutual about acquiring a majority stake in Nedbank Group – South Africa’s fourth biggest bank. The media has speculated that the price could be around £4.5 billion for a 52% stake, in the latest in a series of assets Old Mutual has been forced [...]

Union and BAA in talks to avoid airport strike

Union and BAA in talks to avoid airport strike

Talks are ongoing between airports operator BAA and the Unite union to try to avoid strike action which could see six UK airports shut down over the crucial bank holiday period. Face-to-face talks between the two parties are taking place at the central London offices of the conciliation service ACAS and comes after BAA voted [...]

Moody’s join other agencies and downgrades BP’s credit rating

Moody’s join other agencies and downgrades BP’s credit rating

Oil giant BP suffered another blow today after Moody’s credit rating agency downgraded the company’s credit rating by three notches, from A2 to Aa2. The downgrade follows similar moves from the two other major international credit ratings agencies, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, who also downgraded the company‘s rating. In a statement today, Moody’s said [...]

Prudential in fresh AIA talks

Prudential in fresh AIA talks

Prudential, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, is in fresh talks with AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). Earlier this week, it was reported that as many as 20% of Pru’s UK investors will vote against the proposed takeover and, as a result, the insurance giant said it is in [...]

Strikes commence at BA as last-minute talks collapse

Strikes commence at BA as last-minute talks collapse

British Airways (BA) cabin crew will embark on a five-day strike today after eleventh-hour talks collapsed. Over the weekend, the Unite union’s joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, offered to cancel the latest strikes if travel perks for cabin crew were reinstated. However a spokesperson for BA said: “We have already offered to reinstate travel concessions [...]

Lib Dems end talks with Labour

Lib Dems end talks with Labour

According to sources this evening, the Conservative party is close to forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats after talks between the latter and the Labour Government broke down at lunchtime today. The news comes after Friday’s hung parliament result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority. As a result, the political [...]

Greek finance minister says debt talks progressing well

Greek finance minister says debt talks progressing well

Greece’s finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, has said talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about emergency loans are progressing well. Last week, the debt-ridden economy called for emergency funding from the IMF and its euro zone partners. Emergency loans of up to €30 billion (£26 billion) are expected to be provided in the first year, [...]

Greece may activate emergency loans

Greece may activate emergency loans

The euro has lost ground again today after it emerged that Greece has requested talks with the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss its rescue package. On Sunday, finance ministers of the euro zone nations agreed to provide emergency loans to Greece. The deal will see €30 billion [...]

BA passengers face more disruption on third day of strike

BA passengers face more disruption on third day of strike

British Airways (BA) cabin crew members are on their third and final day of strikes this week but there are still no signs of a resolution between the airline and unions. Last month, BA‘s 12,000 cabin crew members voted to take industrial action over cost-cutting measures, which include a pay freeze and a switch to [...]

Possible strike action at BA as talks fail

Possible strike action at BA as talks fail

Talks aimed at averting industrial action at British Airways (BA) have collapsed and failed to reach an agreement. Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Despite a prolonged period of negotiations it has not been possible to reach agreement between BA and Unite.” Last month, BA‘s 12,000 cabin crew members voted to [...]

BA in talks with union to avert strikes

BA in talks with union to avert strikes

British Airways (BA) is to resume talks with the Unite union about averting industrial action. BA‘s 12,000 cabin crew members have vowed to take industrial action over cost-cutting measures, which include a pay freeze and a switch to part-time working for thousands of staff. Cabin crew members were scheduled to take 12 days of strike [...]

Coventry Building Society in merger talks with Stroud & Swindon

Coventry Building Society in merger talks with Stroud & Swindon

According to reports this weekend, Coventry Building Society is in merger talks with its smaller rival, the Stroud & Swindon. The talks follow a series of recent mergers between Britain’s building societies and, should a deal be successful, will bring more consolidation to the mutual sector. The news comes as Coventry, which is the country’s [...]

Yorkshire and Chelsea merger leads to job losses

Yorkshire and Chelsea merger leads to job losses

It emerged yesterday that Yorkshire Building Society and Chelsea Building Society were in advanced merger talks but today the Yorkshire has revealed that a tie-up would lead to a number of job losses and a £200 million write-down on Chelsea’s bad debts. “The merger will lead to a number of job losses,” the two societies [...]

Branch closures expected at Norwich & Peterborough Building Society

Branch closures expected at Norwich & Peterborough Building Society

Norwich & Peterborough (N&P), which is Britain’s tenth largest society, is to close 10 of its branches, putting more than 50 jobs at risk. The branch closures represent one fifth of its 54-strong network and the news comes just a day after it emerged that Chelsea and Yorkshire Building Societies were in merger talks. N&P [...]

Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies in merger talks

Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies in merger talks

It has been reported that the Yorkshire Building Society is in talks with the Chelsea Building Society about a possible merger. Should a deal prove to be successful between the Yorkshire and Chelsea, it would create an institution with over 2 million customers and assets of around £38 billion. The deal will be the biggest [...]

WHSmith walks away from Borders deal

WHSmith walks away from Borders deal

WHSmith has abandoned talks with bookshop chain Borders, which is set to see Borders UK enter administration unless a sale is imminent. Borders is understood to not have sufficient cash to see it through to Christmas as it has suffered amid increased competition from supermarkets and online retailers, such as Amazon. As a result, the [...]

BA shares up on Iberia merger talks

BA shares up on Iberia merger talks

British Airways (BA) and Spanish airline Iberia are set to merge following talks at both companies. Earlier today, BA said: “Further to recent market speculation, British Airways confirms that the British Airways and Iberia Boards are holding separate meetings today, 12 November, to consider a potential transaction.” However, according to reports in Spanish newspaper, El [...]

BA posts record £292m loss for first-half

BA posts record £292m loss for first-half

Struggling airline British Airways (BA) has today posted a first-half pre-tax loss of £292 million for the six months to 30 September. The airline admitted during the summer it was fighting to survive and has since been looking at ways to cut costs. It is struggling to stay afloat during the global economic downturn which [...]