Human Times

European Edition

12th November 2025

THE HOT STORY

Activists slam proposed changes to landmark EU privacy law

Activists have criticised proposed changes to Europe's landmark privacy law. EU antitrust chief Henna Virkkunen will present the Digital Omnibus, in effect a package of proposals to simplify overlapping legislation including the General Data Protection Regulation, the Artificial Intelligence Act, the e-Privacy Directive and the Data Act, on November 19. Austrian privacy group noyb commented: "The draft Digital Omnibus proposes countless changes to many different articles of the GDPR. In combination this amounts to a death by a thousand cuts." Max Schrems of noyb said: "This would be a massive downgrading of Europeans' privacy 10 years after the GDPR was adopted."

Reuters

STRATEGY

Valmet Automotive to cut workforce

Valmet Automotive will reduce its workforce by up to 1,030 person-years after restructuring talks concluded. The company announced the layoff of 235 workers and the temporary furlough of 860 staff members, affecting nearly all of its 1,300 employees in Finland. CEO Pasi Rannus said: "The objective of these negotiations was to identify solutions that consider the interests of both our personnel and the company." The cuts are linked to changes in the global automotive industry and aim to align staffing with production volumes while preserving specialised know-how.

Helsinki Times

YLE Uutiset

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Dutch software company officially implements four-day work week

AFAS has officially adopted a four-day work week following a successful trial. The Leusden-based software company found that an extra day off improved employee well-being without sacrificing productivity or revenue. HR director Britt Breure said: "We created a kind of personal day, somewhere between work and free time." The trial, evaluated by cultural anthropologist Jitske Kramer, revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback from employees, who appreciated the additional time for personal development. AI was also utilised to streamline tasks, allowing employees to focus on more valuable work.

NL Times

LEGAL

Lloyds criticised over employee data use

Lloyds Banking Group accessed information from the personal bank accounts of more than 30,000 employees. The UK's biggest lender compared staff spending habits to those of the wider public to assess their financial resilience as part of pay negotiations. The Affinity union, which represents Lloyds' employees but is not recognised by the group, said it was concerned, although Lloyds stressed "aggregated, anonymised data" had been used "in order to ensure compliance with regulations and to reflect common practice of using data to underpin decision-making." Jon Baines, a senior data protection specialist at law firm Mishcon de Reya, has called for the information commissioner to look into the exercise.

BBC News

The Times

Denmark faces £400m legal bill after failed pursuit of hedge fund trader

Denmark faces a £400m legal bill, one of the largest in English legal history, stemming from its failed “cum-ex” tax fraud lawsuit in the High Court, according to court documents.

Financial Times

HIRING

‘People like dealing with people’: Reed boss on the challenge of AI in hiring

James Reed, the chief executive of UK recruitment agency Reed, tells the Financial Times that artificial intelligence offers new tools for recruiters but threatens the overall market for labour.

Financial Times

ECONOMY

US tariffs likely to have greater impact on EU firms next year

European businesses are preparing for a significantly greater impact from US tariffs in 2026, anticipating a reduction in GDP by 0.5 to 0.6 percentage points, compared to a minimal impact of 0.03 points in 2025 due to prior mitigation efforts. The survey by BusinessEurope indicates that uncertainty surrounding future trade policies continues to pose medium-term challenges for growth, despite a recent EU-US deal that has reduced some policy ambiguity.

Reuters

CORPORATE

Private equity steps in as Europe’s last industrial groups splinter

Private equity groups are seizing on the break-up of Europe’s last industrial conglomerates, including Safran, BASF and ABB, as they buy up the non-core businesses the companies are offloading.

Financial Times

INTERNATIONAL

PwC cuts business-service roles

PwC is laying off around 150 employees across marketing, HR, operations and other support roles in the US, as part of a broader reorganisation aimed at boosting efficiency through AI and data. The cuts represent 1.5% of its 10,000-strong US business services workforce, with more layoffs expected as process reviews continue. This follows previous rounds of job cuts, including 1,800 last autumn and 1,500 in May. PwC’s global workforce has shrunk by 1.5%, and a prior hiring pledge has been scrapped, despite global revenue rising 2.9% to $56.97bn in the year to June.

Wall Street Journal

Brazil to exempt millions from tax

Brazilian senators have approved a bill to exempt tens of millions of middle class workers from income tax. The bill raises the threshold for paying income tax to 5,000 reais ($930) per month and cuts the rate for workers earning between 5,000 and 7,350 reais. The move is in part funded through higher levies on top earners and on dividends. The tax exemption will benefit nearly 25 million workers, which will be offset by an increased tax burden on 200,000 super-rich individuals, Senator Renan Calheiros said.

Bloomberg

Ex-employee of Australia's NAB charged over fraud 'gatekeeper' role

Police have arrested a former National Australia Bank employee who allegedly acted as the "gatekeeper of funds" for a sophisticated crime syndicate involved in defrauding "all financial institutions." The man has been charged with 19 offences, including using dishonesty to obtain financial advantage and participating in a criminal group. The syndicate is accused of orchestrating fake car financing schemes and loan fraud exceeding A$200m ($130m). NAB emphasized its "zero tolerance for employees who engage in criminal conduct" and said it is cooperating with police. The arrest marks the 16th in an ongoing investigation into the so-called "Penthouse Syndicate."

U.S. News

OTHER

Italian pasta set to disappear from US grocery shelves

La Molisana and 12 other Italian pasta producers face combined US import and antidumping tariffs of 107%, prompting plans to withdraw from the American market as early as January. The US Commerce Department imposed a preliminary 92% antidumping duty following accusations from American competitors, citing non-cooperation from La Molisana and Garofalo, while Italy and the EU contest the decision amid allegations of political bias and protectionism.

Wall Street Journal

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