Human Times

European Edition

16th April 2026

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THE HOT STORY

BBC to cut one in 10 jobs

The BBC plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs, affecting about 10% of its 21,500 workforce. The decision is part of a £600m savings initiative announced in February and comes as the UK broadcaster faces financial pressure from a declining licence fee base and increased competition from streaming services. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the BBC, "like every institution," has to make "difficult decisions." Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting union Bectu, said that "cuts of this magnitude" would be "devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole."

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TECHNOLOGY

Investors and execs urged to 'stop hiring humans'

At the recent HumanX conference in San Francisco, 6,500 investors, entrepreneurs and tech executives gathered to address the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs. An advertisement at the entrance to the event set the tone for the four days: "Stop hiring humans." Florian Douetteau, the chief executive of Dataiku, a French company specialising in enterprise AI, told AFP that the real human added value is "capacity for judgment." He detailed a scenario whereby an AI agent works through the night and its human counterpart reviews the results in the morning. Nevertheless, he worries that "We are going to have a generation of people who will never have written anything from start to finish in their entire lives . . . That's pretty unsettling."

Japan Times

Straits Times

LEGAL

Slovakia approves equal pay law with new rights for workers

Slovakia's parliament has passed a law to address the gender pay gap. The legislation mandates employers to establish transparent pay structures and publish salary ranges in job adverts. Workers can request information about their pay and must justify any discrepancies over 5%. Labour Minister Erik Tomáš said that subjective salary decisions will no longer be tolerated. The law, implementing EU pay transparency rules, will take effect on 7 June 2026, despite some opposition concerns about increased administrative burdens on employers.

The Slovak Spectator

WORKFORCE

UK migrant workforce grew strongly last year despite weaker hiring

Payrolled employment of non-EU nationals in the UK increased by 238,100 or 6% in the year to December 2025, despite a broader slump in hiring, according to official analysis.

Financial Times

REGULATION

EU urged to ease imminent emission rules

The European Union is being urged to urgently consider changes to the bloc’s upcoming regulations on methane emissions by a coalition of energy companies, chemical makers and trade associations that includes Exxon Mobil, BP and Trafigura Group as well as fertilizer makers, oil refiners, organised labour, and synthetic-fabric manufacturers. A letter to the energy ministers of the EU’s 27 member nations dated April 13 calls on them to consider a “stop-the-clock” mechanism to allow companies to adjust to new rules, among other proposals.

Bloomberg

Dutch regulators approve Tesla's partially automated driving system

RDW, the organisation that handles the approval and registration of vehicles in the Netherlands, has approved Tesla’s partially automated driving system, marketed as Full Self-Driving software (FSD). The software doesn’t render vehicles autonomous and needs constant human supervision. Bloomberg notes that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly complained about the regulatory approval processes for FSD in Europe. The Dutch regulator also said it would seek to submit an application for approval throughout the entire EU to the European Commission.

Bloomberg

ECONOMY

Russia’s war-driven tax squeeze pushes small businesses to the brink

Entrepreneurs in Russia are struggling to keep operating following a recent VAT increase from 20 to 22%, along with a lower threshold at which small and medium-sized enterprises must pay it.

Financial Times

CYBERSECURITY

Cyber is the risk 'that never goes away,' BoE's Bailey says

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has said the implications of Anthropic's new AI model must be quickly understood by central banks and financial regulators. "It would be reasonable to think that the events in the Gulf are the most ‌recent challenge to us in this world, until, I think it was last Friday, you wake up to find that Anthropic may have found a way to crack the whole cyber risk world open," he said at an event at Columbia University in New York. Bailey said cyber risks had in recent years rapidly risen up the list of regulators' concerns. "It's the one that never goes away. You have to keep mitigating it, but the threat actors will move on, so we have to deal with it," he observed.

Reuters

INTERNATIONAL

White House study says DEI hurts productivity

A White House study argues that race-based hiring policies have reduced productivity in industries that adopted them. Using minority representation in management as a proxy for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) adoption, the authors say productivity in those industries was 2.7% lower by 2023 and estimate a 0.34% hit to U.S. output. “There is nothing inherently less productive about minority workers or minority managers,” the study says. “The issue is rapidly promoting unqualified workers in order to meet racial quotas set forth by DEI.” The report observes that the “previously virtually unknown” position of chief diversity officer became the “fastest-growing C-suite executive position.” However, some aspects of the study could raise questions about its conclusions, the Wall Street Journal notes.

Wall Street Journal

World Bank chief sounds alarm on looming jobs crisis

World Bank President Ajay Banga has raised the alarm about a substantive shortfall in jobs for the 1.2 billion people who will reach working age in developing ‌countries in the next 10 to 15 years. At current trajectories, such economies will generate only about 400 million jobs, leaving a deficit of 800 million jobs, Banga told Reuters. He said his discussions with officials in developing countries showed their interest in creating more, and better, jobs for the next generation.

Reuters

Orders surge for India's instant home-help services

Reuters reports on how Indian startups Pronto and Snabbit and listed rival Urban Company are training thousands of domestic helpers. They are seeking to lure busy professionals in cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai with under 99 rupee ($1) offerings. The potential annual earnings from working eight hours a day can be as high as $5,000. India's per capita income is around $3,000. Soumya Chauhan of Dutch e-commerce investor Prosus, which has a stake in Urban Company, says worker safety is key. "The platforms that successfully crack the safety protocols will earn the deepest consumer loyalty and the most sustainable market returns," she said.

Reuters

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