Sky puts 900 roles at risk in shake-up to compete with US streaming services
Sky has put 900 roles at risk as the broadcaster continues to reshape its business in the streaming era,The company, which employs about 23,000 staff in the UK, expects the consultation process to result in about 600 roles being cut, with 300 redeployed,The latest round of cuts – the third in a little over 18 months – follows a series of product launches including the second iteration of the Sky Glass smart TV and budget-friendly Sky Glass Air,The Comcast-owned broadcaster is focused on improving existing services, and the cuts will hit Sky’s technology and product teams and related corporate functions,Sky has cut almost 3,500 roles since the beginning of last year as the broadcaster looks to move away from traditional satellite pay-TV to streaming-based services in the fight against US giants such as Netflix.
Since Comcast acquired Sky for £31bn in 2018, about 6,000 jobs in total have been cut from the broadcaster.Sky estimates that more than 90% of new subscriptions are via internet-based products such as Sky Glass and Sky Stream, a new streaming set-top box.“Over the past few years, Sky has launched a set of market-leading products including Sky Glass, Sky Stream and our full fibre broadband service,” said a Sky spokesperson.“These products are now firmly established and used by millions of customers, strengthening Sky’s reputation for innovation and great service.As we look ahead, we are shifting our approach to bring customers the next generation of experience by investing in digital-first service, unbeatable content, and even better performance from our products, powered by the best of global innovation.
”In March, Sky moved to cut 2,000 jobs at its customer service centres and closed three sites,The company said the closures would make it “future-ready” as it shifted from dealing with customers over the phone to digital communications,Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionLast January, Sky cut about 800 jobs, mainly from its army of workers that install equipment in households, as consumers stop taking traditional pay-TV equipment and shift to “plug-and-go” internet-based products,Earlier this year, Sky struck a deal with Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of the film studio behind Barbie and HBO shows including Succession and The White Lotus, which led to it losing the right to exclusively broadcast programmes,The deal will result in WBD’s HBO Max streaming service being made available via Sky.
iOS 26 release: everything you need to know about Apple’s Liquid Glass updates
Apple will release some of the biggest software updates for its iPhone, iPad and smartwatch on Monday, radically changing the way icons, the lock screen and the system looks, as well as adding features for compatible devices.Announced at the company’s developer conference in June, iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26 and macOS 26 Tahoe introduce Apple’s new Liquid Glass design, giving everything a softer, more rounded and semi-transparent look that has proved divisive.Here’s what you need to know about the updates.Downloads for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS updates usually start at about 6pm UK time (1pm in New York; 3am in Sydney). Unlike other manufacturers, all eligible Apple devices will be able to download and install the update the moment it is released rather than in a staggered fashion
Google’s huge new Essex datacentre to emit 570,000 tonnes of CO2 a year
A new Google datacentre in Essex is expected to emit more than half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to about 500 short-haul flights a week, planning documents show.Spread across 52 hectares (128 acres), the Thurrock “hyperscale datacentre” will be part of a wave of mammoth computer and AI power houses if it secures planning consent.The plans were submitted by a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and the carbon impact emerged before a concerted push by Donald Trump’s White House and Downing Street to ramp up AI capacity in Britain. Multibillion-dollar investment deals with some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are expected to be announced during the US president’s state visit to the UK, which starts on Tuesday.Keir Starmer’s government has forecast a 13-fold rise in the amount of computer processing power AI will use by 2035 and is scrambling to supply the datacentres to meet that demand in the hope the technology will boost Britain’s insipid economic productivity
Google Pixel 10 Pro review: one of the very best smaller phones
The Pixel 10 Pro is Google’s best phone that is still a pocketable, easy-to-handle size, taking the excellent Pixel 10 and beefing it up in the camera department.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.That makes it a contender for the top smaller phone with Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro, offering the best of Google’s hardware without an enormous screen
Musk’s Grok AI bot falsely suggests police misrepresented footage of far-right rally in London
The Metropolitan police has had to counter false suggestions by the artificial intelligence on Elon Musk’s X platform that the force passed off footage from 2020 as being from Saturday’s far-right rally in the city.The claim by the chatbot Grok was in answer to an X user’s query about where and when footage of police clashing with crowds was filmed.Grok, which has had a track record of giving false and misleading answers, replied: “This footage appears to be from an anti-lockdown protest in London’s Trafalgar Square on 26 September 2020, during clashes between demonstrators and police over Covid restrictions.”The answer was quickly picked up and amplified by X users, including the Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson, who tweeted: “This was my suspicion,” before asking: “Did the Met claim footage of clashes in summer 2020 took place yesterday?”The Met responded to her by saying that the footage was filmed on Saturday shortly before 3pm at the junction of Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue.“It is quite obviously not Trafalgar Square as is suggested in the AI response you have referenced, but for the avoidance of further doubt we have provided a labelled comparison to confirm the location,” the force added
Elon Musk calls for dissolution of parliament at far-right rally in London
Elon Musk has called for a “dissolution of parliament” and a “change of government” in the UK while addressing a crowd attending a “unite the kingdom” rally in London, organised by the far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson.Musk, the owner of X, who dialled in via a video link and spoke to Robinson while thousands watched and listened, also railed against the “woke mind virus” and told the crowd that “violence is coming” and that “you either fight back or you die”.He said: “I really think that there’s got to be a change of government in Britain. You can’t – we don’t have another four years, or whenever the next election is, it’s too long.“Something’s got to be done
UK workers wary of AI despite Starmer’s push to increase uptake, survey finds
It is the work shortcut that dare not speak its name. A third of people do not tell their bosses about their use of AI tools amid fears their ability will be questioned if they do.Research for the Guardian has revealed that only 13% of UK adults openly discuss their use of AI with senior staff at work and close to half think of it as a tool to help people who are not very good at their jobs to get by.Amid widespread predictions that many workers face a fight for their jobs with AI, polling by Ipsos found that among more than 1,500 British workers aged 16 to 75, 33% said they did not discuss their use of AI to help them at work with bosses or other more senior colleagues. They were less coy with people at the same level, but a quarter of people believe “co-workers will question my ability to perform my role if I share how I use AI”
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