Construction Giant Carillion has captured many of the headlines this week with its spectacular collapse, leaving many jobs at risk. UK growth forecasts have improved as the chance of a no-deal Brexit is looking less likely and Iceland has committed to eliminating plastic packaging. A report shows that the gender pay gap in the UK is costing women nearly £140bn a year.
The collapse of Carillion has put thousands of UK jobs at risk. To find out more about how and why this happened, take a look at these charts that the BBC have put together to explain how the company met its end.
UK growth forecasts have been raised in the wake of the progress being made with Brexit negotiations. As the chances of a no-deal Brexit is looking increasingly unlikely, experts are reporting a more positive outlook for the UK economy.
The Young Women’s Trust has released figures showing that collectively, women are paid £137.7bn a year less than their male peers. Women in London face the biggest gap in earnings of 28%. Speaking to the Telegraph, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, chief executive of Virgin Money, said: “Closing the pay gap as part of a strategy to create the right culture for both women and men to flourish will not only improve business performance, it is simply the right thing to do.”
Iceland has announced that it has committed to eliminating all plastic packaging for own-brand products by 2023. It is the first major retailer to do so and the new packaging will include trays made from paper and pulp and paper bags which will be widely recyclable.
There were concerns earlier this week that Airbus’ iconic and much-loved A380 was in trouble with the manufacturer saying the programme may have to shut down due to lack of orders. Emirates stepped in on Thursday to order 36 of the aircraft.
