Reliance, led by Mukesh Ambani and his daughter Isha Ambani Piramal, has introduced the renowned British restaurant chain, Pret A Manger, to India, aiming to compete with Starbucks India, led by Ratan Tata.
Through a multi-crore deal, Reliance has secured an exclusive partnership with Pret A Manger, the well-known UK-based coffee and sandwich chain.
The first Pret A Manger store in India was recently inaugurated as a result of this collaboration.
The collaboration between Pret A Manger and Reliance was facilitated by Reliance Retail, owned by Isha Ambani, and Reliance Brands.
As part of the agreement, plans are underway to establish 12 Pret A Manger restaurants in India, including Delhi and Bengaluru.
The decision to introduce Pret A Manger in India stems from the popularity of tea and coffee shops among the country's youth.
Reliance Retail, helmed by Mukesh and Isha Ambani, seeks to make a noteworthy impact on the Indian food and beverage industry by introducing this esteemed foreign brand.
The first Pret A Manger store opened at Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex.
Darshan Mehta, the managing director of Reliance Brands, underscores the importance of using fresh ingredients, maintaining recipe authenticity, and adopting transparent food production practices to pique the curiosity of Indian consumers.
With approximately 550 stores spread globally, Pret A Manger is renowned for its wide selection of organic coffee, cookies, salads, and sandwiches.
INDIA's largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), will lay off about 2 per cent, or 12,261 employees, of its global workforce this year. The majority of those affected will be from middle and senior levels.
As of 30 June 2025, TCS's total workforce was 6,13,069. The company added 5,000 employees during the April–June quarter.
The layoffs are part of TCS's strategy to transform into a "future-ready organisation", focusing on technology investments, AI deployment, market expansion, and workforce realignment, the company said in a statement.
"TCS is on a journey to become a Future-Ready organisation. This includes strategic initiatives on multiple fronts, including investing in new-tech areas, entering new markets, deploying AI at scale for our clients and ourselves, deepening our partnerships, creating next-gen infrastructure, and realigning our workforce model.
"Towards this, a number of reskilling and redeployment initiatives have been underway. As part of this journey, we will also be releasing associates from the organisation whose deployment may not be feasible. This will impact about 2 per cent of our global workforce, primarily in the middle and the senior grades, over the course of the year," it said.
The company added that it would provide benefits, outplacement, counselling, and support to the employees affected by the move.
The announcement comes as Indian IT services firms reported single-digit revenue growth in Q1FY26, with the June quarter affected by macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, which slowed global tech demand and client decision-making.
TCS reported revenue of ₹63,437 crore (approximately £5.47 billion) in Q1FY26, up 1.3 per cent year-on-year, while net profit rose 5.9 per cent to ₹12,760 crore (approximately £1.1 billion).
TCS MD and Chief Executive K Krithivasan said the company continues to face "demand contraction" due to ongoing uncertainties and does not expect double-digit revenue growth in FY26. He said delays in client decision-making have "intensified" and expressed hope that discretionary spending, a key driver of revenue for IT firms, would pick up once uncertainties ease.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has laid off over 15,000 employees in 2025, representing 7 per cent of its global workforce. In a memo to employees, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the job cuts have been "weighing heavily" on him.
"This is the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value," Nadella said. He added: "Progress isn't linear. It's dynamic, sometimes dissonant, and always demanding. But it's also a new opportunity for us to shape, lead through, and have greater impact than ever before."
According to Layoffs.fyi, over 80,000 tech workers have been laid off by 169 tech companies in 2025 so far. In 2024, 1.5 lakh (150,000) tech workers lost their jobs across 551 companies, a trend driven by global economic challenges and debates on AI's impact on jobs and employability.
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Reynolds said an effective wealth tax 'doesn’t exist anywhere in the world' and criticised it as a populist measure.
BUSINESS SECRETARY Jonathan Reynolds has ruled out introducing a wealth tax, describing it as a “daft” idea that would not work.
His comments came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that Britain will need to raise other taxes or cut spending to meet fiscal targets, The Times reported.
Lord Kinnock has called for a 2 per cent annual levy on assets over £10 million, a proposal backed by several Labour MPs. However, Reynolds dismissed the suggestion, telling Labour backbenchers to “get serious”.
He told GB News: “The idea you can just levy everyone … What if your wealth was not in your bank account, what if it was in fine wine or art? How would we tax that? This is why this doesn’t exist.”
Reynolds said an effective wealth tax “doesn’t exist anywhere in the world” and criticised it as a populist measure. He added that the Labour government has already increased taxes on wealth, citing private jets, private schools, inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
Labour MP Richard Burgon argued that refusing to tax wealth while cutting benefits has harmed the government’s support.
Meanwhile, the IMF said chancellor Rachel Reeves would need to consider tax rises on middle earners, scrapping the pensions triple lock and introducing NHS charges to balance the budget.
The IMF praised Reeves for “growth-friendly” policies but warned that high debt and an ageing population mean tax rises or spending cuts are unavoidable.
Reeves said the report confirmed that her policies are supporting Britain’s economic recovery.
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The fall comes amid uncertainty over US tariffs, with some firms slowing or halting production earlier in the year. (Representational iamge)
UK VEHICLE production in the first half of this year has dropped to its lowest level since 1953, excluding the Covid shutdown period, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Car output declined by 7.3 per cent in the six months to June. Van production fell by 45 per cent, driven in part by the closure of Vauxhall’s Luton plant, the BBC reported.
The fall comes amid uncertainty over US tariffs, with some firms slowing or halting production earlier in the year.
A UK-US tariff deal, announced in May and effective from 30 June, reduced duties from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent, and a small increase in production was recorded in June.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said the figures were “depressing” and hoped the first half marked “the nadir” for the industry. He said the target of 1.3 million vehicles annually by 2035 was ambitious and would require at least one or two new manufacturers to set up in the UK.
Electrified vehicle production rose 1.8 per cent, making up over two in five vehicles. Last week, the government reinstated EV grants of up to £3,750 for models priced below £37,000, but the SMMT said the new scheme lacked clarity.
The government said it expects dozens of models to qualify for the grant and is working with manufacturers.
The £650 million fund will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Kristin Cabot exits Astronomer after Coldplay kiss cam moment sparks CEO fallout and public backlash
Kristin Cabot, Chief People Officer at Astronomer, has resigned following a viral concert video.
The clip showed her embracing CEO Andy Byron at a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts.
Byron resigned earlier amid an internal investigation.
The video sparked widespread online memes, speculation, and intense media scrutiny.
A senior executive at US tech firm Astronomer has stepped down days after a viral video from a Coldplay concert thrust the company into the spotlight. Kristin Cabot, the firm's chief people officer, resigned following the online uproar over a clip that appeared to show her in a close moment with CEO Andy Byron during the band’s recent performance.
Her resignation comes shortly after Byron also left his post, with Astronomer confirming both departures amid growing public interest and internal reviews.
Kristin Cabot The Sun
What happened at the Coldplay concert?
The now-viral footage was captured during a Coldplay show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on 16 July. As part of frontman Chris Martin’s interactive segment called the Jumbotron Song, cameras panned across the crowd, momentarily focusing on Cabot and Byron.
The pair were seen smiling and swaying before visibly reacting to being caught on the jumbo screen. Cabot quickly covered her face and turned away, while Byron ducked out of view. Martin quipped to the audience, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy,” further fuelling online speculation.
The clip rapidly circulated on social media, spawning memes, parody videos, and raising questions about the identities of the couple. Internet sleuths quickly linked the pair to Astronomer, a previously low-profile New York-based data and AI startup.
— (@)
Who are Kristin Cabot and Andy Byron?
Kristin Cabot was a high-level executive responsible for HR and workplace culture at Astronomer. She had only recently joined the company, with her hiring announced in a press release in November 2024.
Andy Byron, who served as CEO, was placed on administrative leave shortly after the video went viral. His resignation was confirmed a day later. Neither Cabot nor Byron has made public statements regarding their relationship or the incident. Both are reportedly married, and their profiles have now been scrubbed from Astronomer’s official website.
Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot caught on Coldplay kiss cam during Boston show X Screengrab
What has Astronomer said?
Astronomer responded to the situation by naming co-founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy as interim CEO. In a company-wide message shared online, DeJoy acknowledged the "surreal" nature of the media attention.
“The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team,” he said. “While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name. We’re focused on moving forward and maintaining trust with our community.”
While the company has not directly addressed the video, its timing aligned with the departures, and the sequence of events strongly suggests internal concerns prompted both resignations.
— (@)
What impact did the video have?
Beyond internal shakeups at Astronomer, the viral video had unexpected ripple effects. Coldplay saw a 20% surge in online streams of their music in the days following the incident, according to analytics firm Luminate.
The moment also sparked conversations about workplace boundaries, online privacy, and the consequences of being thrust into internet fame without consent. Some viewers criticised the couple, while others questioned the ethics of public shaming over personal moments caught in viral content.
For Astronomer, a company that provides data solutions for large enterprises, the incident is a dramatic and unintended jump in public visibility, though not the kind any startup typically seeks.
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NatWest also raised its key profit guidance for the year, saying it now expects to achieve a return on tangible equity of 16.5 per cent, up from its earlier guidance of up to 16 per cent.
NATWEST reported an 18 per cent rise in first-half profit on Friday, slightly ahead of expectations, as it recorded growth in both loans and deposits. The performance allowed the bank to announce a new share buyback worth £750 million.
The British lender posted an operating pretax profit of £3.6 billion for the January to June period. This compares with the £3.46bn average forecast from analysts compiled by the bank.
NatWest also raised its key profit guidance for the year, saying it now expects to achieve a return on tangible equity of 16.5 per cent, up from its earlier guidance of up to 16 per cent.
The results come a day after Lloyds also posted strong earnings, supported by continued resilience among UK households and businesses despite broader economic uncertainty.
The share buyback announcement was in line with analyst expectations of £730m. NatWest shares have climbed 47 per cent over the past year.
On 30 May, NatWest announced it had returned to full private ownership, marking the end of a taxpayer-funded government stake dating back to its 2008 financial crisis rescue.
Then known as RBS, the bank has shifted from being a global investment bank to a domestic-focused corporate and retail lender, which has helped shield it from broader market disruptions.
After years of reducing its operations, NatWest has started expanding again. In June last year, it acquired the banking arm of supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s as part of broader consolidation across the UK financial sector.
The Sainsbury’s deal contributed £2.2bn in customer balances in the second quarter, supporting NatWest’s overall loan growth of £8bn during the period.
The bank said its lending performance, along with relatively low impairments, has helped ease concerns about the impact of slow economic growth and persistent inflation on businesses and mortgage holders.
Competition is expected to increase further this year following Santander’s acquisition of TSB, which created a larger competitor to major players such as NatWest and Lloyds.