River Island plans to close 33 stores, putting hundreds of jobs at risk

River Island plans to close 33 of its 230 stores and a further 71 are at risk under a restructuring programme that could put more than 1,000 jobs on the line.The family-owned company, which employs about 5,500 people, blamed a “migration of shoppers from the high street to online” and higher costs for the need to make the drastic changes to stem heavy losses.The plan, which is being put together with help from the advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and is to be voted on by creditors in August, involves the closure of 33 stores, with the future of a further 71 dependent on talks with landlords to improve rental deals.Ben Lewis, the chief executive of River Island, said the company regretted any job losses and would “try to keep these to a minimum”.He said: “River Island is a much-loved retailer, with a decades-long history on the British high street

Emma Gilthorpe resigns as Royal Mail chief executive after just a year

The chief executive of Royal Mail has left after just over a year, weeks after the delivery company’s owner was sold for £3.6bn to a Czech billionaire.Emma Gilthorpe, who joined from Heathrow airport in May 2024, left the company on Thursday, and will be replaced on an interim basis by the chief operating officer, Alistair Cochrane, with immediate effect, the Guardian has learned.Daniel Křetínský completed a deal to buy International Distribution Services (IDS), the owner of the 509-year-old Royal Mail, in April.A group of existing IDS non-executive directors, including the chair, Keith Williams, resigned earlier this month

Amazon under UK investigation over alleged failure to pay suppliers on time

The UK’s grocery industry watchdog has launched an investigation into Amazon over allegations that the retail and technology company is failing to pay its suppliers on time.The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Amazon had breached a part of the groceries supply code of practice, which mandates that there should not be delays in payments made to suppliers.The investigation into Amazon comes almost a year after the GCA told the online retailer it needed to take “swift and comprehensive action” to improve its compliance with industry rules designed to protect suppliers.The GCA is responsible for regulating the relationships between the UK’s 14 largest grocery retailers – including the biggest supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s – and their direct suppliers.The investigation into Amazon’s grocery retail arm is its third since the GCA was established in 2013 after inquiries into Tesco and the Co-op

Rough ride: how Uber quietly took more of your fare with its algorithm change

More than a decade after being one of 19 Uber drivers who took the company to court in 2015, Abdurzak Hadi continues to drive for – and fight with – the ride hailing app.The group won their claim confirming their entitlement to the legal minimum wage – but the Silicon Valley company’s insistence that its drivers were self-employed contractors meant the case went all the way to the supreme court. In 2021, Hadi and friends won there too.If that sounds as if the British legal system left the former Somalian refugee in the driving seat, he argues that life for Uber workers is now as precarious as ever.On Thursday, academics at the University of Oxford – in conjunction with the non-profit gig worker organisation Worker Info Exchange (WIE) – launched a report analysing a mass of data relating to 1

Freeman and Van der Merwe miss chance to make impression in tough Lions opener | Brendan Fanning

Swag is a word more common in the US than in this corner of the world. It’s a made-to-measure term for athletes with attitude as well as talent; a bit of showmanship to go with the substance. It helps sell the product. When we think of the Lions we like the idea of a bit of swag to go with the occasional success.Scott Gibbs for example, on the 1997 winning tour to South Africa, the trip that rescued the idea of four countries merging into one and still having a relevance in the newly professionalised game

British & Irish Lions 24-28 Argentina: rugby union – as it happened

Right, that’s all from me. I need, well, possibly a cold beer actually. Here’s Robert Kitson’s report for further reading. Thanks for your company.Itoje highlights directness in attack and sharpness in the transition as areas where the Lions were lacking, but gives due credit to the opposition