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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Ford Motor has brought back so-called “gray beard” engineers to help train younger staff and reprogram AI tools to address quality problems. The hiring of these 350 veterans over the last three years to address what were seemingly intractable quality issues that have cost the company billions has helped Ford become the top mainstream brand in the latest JD Power Initial Quality Survey. Charles Poon, Ford’s vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, said: “Over prior years, we didn’t pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers that have been with us through many product cycles.” Ford chief operating officer, Kumar Galhotra, explained: “We had been relying more and more on automated quality systems” and not getting the desired results, adding that the rehired technical specialists “hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor.”
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Human Times
UK
London-headquartered fintech Revolut will require its graduate employees to work from the office for the majority of the week in a shift away from a long-championed “remote-first” approach. Meanwhile, The Times reports that, in France, Airbus is facing potential strike action as it plans to increase on-site working days for white-collar staff from three to four per week. Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said the change aims to enhance performance and quality. The CGT union said its concerns include overcrowding in facilities and disruptions to personal lives. A union notice urged those rallying to "voice their anger and debate right under G. Faury's windows!"
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Human Times
Europe
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has said European workers should be allowed "cooling breaks" - just like World Cup footballers - on sweltering summer days. "The cooling breaks being used at the World Cup have put the spotlight on the danger posed to workers by extreme heat and the kind of measures that can be taken to keep people safe," ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said. "Builders, fruit pickers or bus drivers need a lot longer than three minutes to recover, but [the World Cup] is a good example of how work can be adapted to the changing climate." The lobby group wants the European Commission to grant workers a "right to breaks without loss of pay" when temperatures are high.
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Human Times
Middle East
Dubai's Human Resources Department has introduced 'Our Flexible Summer' initiative for 2026, allowing government employees to choose between two working models. From 29 June to 10 September, employees can work seven hours daily from Monday to Thursday and four and a half hours on Friday, or eight hours from Monday to Thursday with Friday off. Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, Director General of DGHR, said: "Employee wellbeing and quality of life do not come at the expense of performance."
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