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Exxon Mobil to lay off 2,000 workers globally
The American oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil will lay off 2,000 workers around the world as part of a long-term restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported, citing a memo.
The job cuts amount to 3% to 4% of Exxon’s global workforce, as the Texas-based company is reorganising smaller offices into regional hubs.
Exxon chief executive Darren Woods said he is making “tough decisions” to make the company more competitive in a memo to employees, according to Bloomberg:
The changes we’ve announced today will further strengthen our advantages and grow the gap with our competition, helping to keep us in the lead for decades to come.
Woods is seeking to simplify the company’s sprawling global footprint that resulted from Exxon’s merger with Mobil two decades ago.
The regional hubs will focus on Exxon’s growth initiatives such as oil in Guyana, liquefied natural gas along the Gulf Coast and trading globally. The company recently laid out plans to move staff from Brussels and Leatherhead in the UK, to central London, where many of its traders are based.
The news comes a day after Calgary-based Imperial Oil, which is nearly 70% owned by Exxon, announced it is cutting a fifth of its workforce.
Other big energy companies, including Chevron, ConocoPhilllips and the UK’s BP, have announced thousands of job cuts this year, as the industry struggles with weaker crude oil prices.
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Updated at 13.38 CEST
Royal Mail owner to rebrand thousands of Collect+ stores as it buys stake
Thousands of convenience stores will be branded Royal Mail Shop, after the delivery company’s new owner acquired a stake in the parcel network Collect+, in the first big deal since it was taken over by a Czech billionaire.
The Royal Mail owner, International Distribution Services (IDS), which was taken over by Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group in April in a £3.6bn deal, said it had bought a 49% stake in Collect+ for £43.9m, which offers access to almost 8,000 pickup points – newsagents, convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol stations.
The launch of Royal Mail Shop puts its brand directly on the high street, with customers able to collect, send and return parcels. Significantly, the shops will be open during evenings and weekends, unlike many Post Office branches.
Shops will sell Royal Mail postage, initially just Tracked 24 and Tracked 48, with more products to follow. This means customers can pay in person rather than online.
The move comes two years after Royal Mail lost a 360-year-old monopoly on delivering parcels from Post Office branches, after Evri and DPD signed deals.
The Royal Mail service is available in 500 shops and will be rolled out more widely in the coming months.
A Royal Mail van. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PAShare
Updated at 12.56 CEST
Tata bought slabs from rival British Steel as it sought to beat Trump tariff plans
British Steel has made the unusual move to sell slabs of metal to its rival Tata Steel, as the latter sought ways around Donald Trump’s proposed tariff rules.
The Scunthorpe steelworks in north Lincolnshire – now controlled by the UK government – provided slabs made in its blast furnaces to Tata’s operations in south Wales in recent months, according to steel sources.
Indian-owned Tata was seeking ways to avoid threatened US tariffs on steel not sourced from the UK while its Welsh operations were reliant on buying slabs from elsewhere. However, the proposed rules were later dropped after the UK and US failed to reach agreement.
The steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
The UK government took control of British Steel in April amid fears that its Chinese owner, Jingye Steel, was preparing to walk away and leave irreparable damage.
Since taking control, the government has directed British Steel to increase output and hire more workers. Jingye claimed the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe – the last in Britain able to make steel from iron ore – had been losing £700,000 a day.
Ramping up production was seen by some people as a way to improve profitability and ease the financial burden on the government. Earlier this month, the government said that it had injected £180m to British Steel to pay for raw materials, salaries and unpaid bills.
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Updated at 12.58 CEST
German unemployment rises more than expected in September
In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, unemployment rose more than expected this month, as the labour market struggles to pick up in a weak economy.
The number of people out of work increased by 14,000 to 2.98 million, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the federal labour office Bundesagentur für Arbeit, higher than the 8,000 increase forecast by economists. The jobless rate stayed at 6.3%.
The number of vacancies also declined, by 66,000 from a year earlier to 630,000 job openings. The head of the labour office, Andrea Nahles, said:
The labour market continues to lack the necessary stimulus for a stronger recovery.
The German economy shrank by 0.3% between April and June compared with the first three months of the year. Leading German economic institutes nudged up their growth forecast for this year to 0.2% from 0.1%, rising to 1.3% in 2026.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to get Germany out of its downturn with a big increase in infrastructure and defence spending, but the effects have yet to be felt on the ground.
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UK consumer borrowing rises most since October 2024
Consumer borrowing in the UK rose at the fastest annual pace since last October in August, according to Bank of England figures – a sign that household demand remained solid ahead of potential tax hikes in the budget on 26 November.
Consumer borrowing rose by 7.1% in August from the year before, up from an annual increase of 7% in July. In the last three months, borrowing increased at the fastest pace since March 2024.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said:
Nervousness about forthcoming tax rises in the budget, in August at least, didn’t put consumers off borrowing and spending.
Mortgage approvals totalled 64,680, down slightly from 65,161 in July. Mortgage lending fell to £4.3bn from £4.5bn.
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Smith+Nephew CFO moves to US
The finance chief of artificial hips and knees maker Smith+Nephew will relocate to the US from the UK, citing operational efficiency, with more than half the company’s revenues coming from the US.
The UK company, which makes orthopaedic implants, wound dressings and surgical aids for sports medicine, said its chief financial officer John Rogers will move to the US this week.
Given the significant amount of time the CFO already spends in the US and in recognition of the importance of the US market to the group’s strategy and operations, John, with the support of the board, has decided to relocate there.
This relocation will also allow even closer collaboration with other senior leaders based in the US, supporting focused execution of our business strategy. John will continue to spend a significant portion of his time at Smith+Nephew’s global headquarters in the UK, and at our sites around the world.
Smith+Nephew Australia’s offices in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park. Photograph: Stephen Dwyer/Alamy
Rogers will be employed under a local US employment contract.
The move comes after Donald Trump urged global pharmaceutical firms to invest more in the US, prompting US drugmakers along with the UK’s AstraZeneca and GSK, and Swiss firms Novartis and Roche to announce billions of dollars of investment.
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125 jobs to go at Lindsey oil refinery
About 125 jobs are to go at the Lindsey oil refinery in north Lincolnshire, following the collapse of its parent company, the energy conglomerate Prax Group.
However, there are at least two bids to buy and operate the site as a going concern with a full workforce, according to the Unite union.
The government-run Insolvency Service said:
We can confirm that 125 Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery employees have been informed that their positions will be made redundant at the end of October. A further 255 employees will remain at the site.
“This decision was not taken lightly and follows a thorough review of all aspects of the business, following its insolvency.
We understand that this a very difficult time for all those affected by this decision, and the Insolvency Service will fully support employees subject to redundancy via the redundancy payments service.
The site remains safe, and the official receiver continues to prioritise health and safety at the site alongside the ongoing process to secure the sale of the refinery.
The conduct of the company and its directors, following the liquidation of Prax Oil Refinery, remains the subject of an ongoing Insolvency Service investigation.
Unite said the government is responsible for the redundancies going ahead as it could provide support to ensure the refinery is kept operational. There are a further 500 contract jobs and potentially thousands in the supply chain depend on the refinery, it said.
The union believes that the insolvency firm FTI’s preferred bidder wishes to mothball the site and use it as a storage terminal for oil tankers. It would be the easiest way to satisfy creditors but would “gut jobs, harm the regional economy and compromise the UK’s ability to produce its own fuel”.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
The government has been tin eared to the plight of workers at the second oil refinery facing closure in less than a year. This makes a mockery of government promises to protect workers and its plan for net zero.
The government had promised to ensure that job focused bids would be the priority at Lindsey, yet prior to bids even being considered, they are already issuing redundancy notices.
The refinery’s biggest creditor is HMRC, alongside oil company Glencore. Both can wait for the more complicated but far less damaging process of maintaining the site as an oil refinery, with government support, Unite said.
Without the refinery, which supplied 25% of the UK diesel market, the country is more reliant on imported fuel. This impacts the UK’s energy security and leaves consumers more exposed to price rises at the pump. A substantial amount of diesel is imported from Turkey and India and made from Russian crude.
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Updated at 12.50 CEST
Asos shares slump as it warns on outlook amid ‘soft consumer backdrop’
Shares in Asos fell more than 11% to a near-six month low, after the British online fashion retailer said full-year revenues will miss forecasts and fall more steeply amid weak consumer spending.
The shares fell to 260p in early trading, the lowest since 9 April, making them the biggest loser on the FTSE Smallcap Index, and are now trading 9% down at 267p.
The company said revenues for the year to 26 September will come in slightly below market expectations, as it focuses on higher quality sales against a “soft consumer backdrop”. Analysts had pencilled in an 8.4% decline in revenues.
Smartphone with an ASOS app and a keyboard are seen in front of a displayed ASOS logo in 2020. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters
Asos now sees full-year profit at the lower end of the £130m to £150m forecast range, but said gross profit margins had improved, and is expecting a return to revenue growth in the coming years.
It has slashed costs by mothballing its Atlanta warehouse and reducing its stockpile of clothes by more than 60% since the end of 2022, from £1.1bn to £400m, in an attempt to become more agile.
Over the summer Asos started the final phase of its transformation programme, launching new customer experiences such as its adidas x ASOS collaboration, the ASOS.WORLD loyalty programme in the UK, and expanding Topshop and Topman through new channels. It said there were “positive early signs” from customers.
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Updated at 10.35 CEST
UK growth revisions: what the experts say
Although the upward revisions to UK GDP this morning are welcome, they probably won’t save chancellor Reeves from a productivity downgrade from the UK’s fiscal watchdog, says Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics.
The small upward revisions to real GDP in recent years partly helps to explain the strength of inflation and means that productivity growth wasn’t quite as weak as previously thought. The OBR will take these revisions into account ahead of the Budget, but they are very unlikely to prevent the downgrade to the OBR’s productivity growth forecasts that will contribute to the Chancellor having to raise some money, most likely via higher taxes.
The quarterly rate of GDP growth in Q2 2025 was left unrevised at 0.3% q/q, although the annual growth rate was revised up from 1.2% to 1.4%. And in Q2 itself, the shape of growth was a little more encouraging. Most striking was that the change in business investment was revised from -4.0% q/q to -1.1% q/q. This was offset by smaller contributions to GDP growth from net trade, inventories and the alignment adjustment.
Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, points out that growth has been “very sluggish” since Covid-19:
“GDP growth was confirmed to have slowed to 0.3% in Q2, down from 0.7% at the start of the year. Some of the strength at the start of the year was the result of ongoing issues with residual seasonality, but below the surface, the data paints a weaker picture, with Q2 growth heavily reliant on government spending. Consumption was little more than flat on the quarter, while business investment fell 1.1% as some temporary strength from Q1 unwound.
Today’s release incorporated additional survey and administrative data, and methodological improvements that caused revisions as far back as 1997. The new data leaves the level of GDP a little higher, but it doesn’t change the broader picture that the UK economy has been very sluggish since the pandemic.
Richard Flax, chief investment officer at Moneyfarm, suggests the economy is “navigating headwinds” better than thought:
“The final estimate of UK GDP for Q2 confirmed growth of 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, in line with expectations, but showed a stronger-than-anticipated 1.4% increase year-on-year. This marks an upward revision from the previous estimate of 1.2% YoY, suggesting that the economy performed better over the past year than initially thought.
The firmer annual growth points to a more resilient backdrop, supported by sustained strength in services and consumer spending, even as higher interest rates continued to weigh on activity. This resilience suggests that the UK economy is navigating headwinds more effectively than feared.
Looking ahead, momentum in the second half of the year remains uncertain. Weak global demand and persistent cost pressures may continue to act as a drag, even as households and businesses begin to benefit from disinflation and a stabilising rate environment. In terms of fiscal policy, a slightly better performance on economic growth may not do much to help the Chancellor as she tries to balance the books ahead of the November budget. We’re still likely to see a range of tax increases in the budget announcement.”
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Updated at 09.58 CEST
Gambling company shares drop as Reeves hints at higher taxes
Shares in gambling companies are dipping at the start of trading, after chancellor Rachel Reeves hinted that they could face higher taxes.
Evoke (which owns 888poker and William Hill) has dropped by 1.5%, with Rank Group down 1%.
Entain (the firm behind Ladbrokes, Coral and BetMGM) fell 1.7% at the open in London, before recovering.
Yesterday, Reeves signaled she could be open to raising taxes on the UK’s gambling industry, which could raise funds to fund services or benefits.
She told ITV News:
“I do think there’s a case for gambling firms paying more.
They make an important contribution to the economy but they should pay their fair share of taxes and we’ll make sure that that happens.”
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UK GDP per capita stats
You get a better picture of a country’s living standards if you look at GDP per capita (the calculation that divides GDP by population).
And again, we can see that the picture was less grim than first thought in the first six months of the Labour government (and in the last quarter of the Conservatives, before last July’s election).
GDP per capita in July-September 2024 rose by 0.1%, rather than shrinking by 0.1% as first thought.
In October-December, GDP per capita also rose by 0.1%, having previously been estimated as 0%.
However, GDP per capita in January-March this year has been revised down to 0.5% from 0.6%, even though the estimte for GDP is unchanged.
Illustration: ONSShare
Estimates for UK business investment in the last quarter have also been revised higher.
Business investment is estimated to have fallen by 1.1% in Quarter 2 2025, revised up from the first estimate fall of 4.0%. This follows a 4.1% increase in January-March.
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Annual growth faster than estimated too
This morning’s revisions mean UK growth over the last year was faster than estimated.
GDP on a year-on-year basis was 1.4% higher than a year ago in Q2 2025, up from a previous estimate of 1.2%
UK GDP Q2 Final Q/Q +0.3% (est +0.3%, last +0.3%)
UK GDP Q2 Final Y/Y +1.4% (est +1.2%, last +1.2%)
— Mario Cavaggioni (@CavaggioniMario) September 30, 2025
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Household savings rate rises as consumers turn cautious
UK households saved more money in the second quarter of this year – possibly a sign of caution about the economic outlook.
The households’ saving ratio is estimated to have increased to 10.7% in Quarter 2 2025, up from 10.5% in the first quarter of this year, due to a rise in non-pension saving.
Thomas Pugh, chief economist at leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK says:
“As expected, headline GDP growth in Q2 was unchanged at 0.3% q/q. But the increase in the saving ratio suggests consumers turned more cautious in the second quarter. The big question now is whether speculation about the budget will undermine confidence further.
“Headline growth remained at 0.3% in Q2. But the saving rate increased from an already high 10.5% to 10.7%. This was driven by an increase in non-pension saving suggesting that consumer caution after April’s tax and tariff increases prompted households to save more. Indeed, household spending growth remained weak at just 0.1% q/q.
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There’s some disappointing news in today’s GDP report, though – the production sector suffered a sharper downturn in the last quarter, and the building sector grew more slowly than estimated.
The production sector is estimated to have fallen by 0.8% in Quarter 2 2025 (previously estimated as a 0.3% fall), the ONS reports. This downturn was driven by lower power generation and gas production.
Services output increased by an unrevised 0.4% in Quarter 2 2025,
And construction output is estimated to have grown by 1.0% in Quarter 2 2025 (previously a 1.2% increase).
Construction output for Q2 2025 was revised down from the @ONS previous estimate of 1.2% to 1%. New Infrastructure work continued to prop up growth, increasing 2.9% alongside repair and maintenance of private housing, which grew 4.4%. pic.twitter.com/zSkOr3a85F
— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) September 30, 2025
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Introduction: UK growth in early months of Labour government revised up
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Britain’s economy has grown faster than first estimated in the first six months of the Labour government.
Updated economic data released this morning shows that the economy did not stagnate in the third quarter of last year, as Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and colleagues took the helm with gloomy warnings about the challenge ahead.
Having previously said GDP was flat in July-September 2024, the Office for National Statistics has recrunched the numbers and concluded the economy actually grew by 0.2% – modest growth, but better than none at all.
Growth in October-December 2024 has also been revised up, from 0.1% to 0.2%.
The performance of the economy in the last six months of Conservative rule has also been revised. Growth in Q1 2024 has been cut from 0.9% to 0.8%, while growth in April-June 2024 has been revised up from 0.5% to 0.6%.
Although these changes are minor, and historic, they do undermine the narrative that fears over Reeves’s budget plans chilled the economy to a standstill last year.
Something for Labour to ponder at their party conference this week, where the prime minister is expected to tell members that his economic strategy can be the “antidote to division”.
GDP figures for 2025 have not been revised though – the economy still grew by 0.7% in January-March, slowing to 0.3% in April-June.
Photograph: ONS
And the big picture is that the level of GDP in Quarter 2 2025 compared with Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023 is now estimated to be 2.9% higher, revised up from the first estimate of 2.6%, the ONS says.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown explains:
“Today’s figures include a suite of improvements to our measurement of the economy, including better information on research and development and the activities of complex multinational companies, alongside the usual inclusion of updated and improved data sources.
“Growth for 2024 as a whole is unrevised, though these new figures show the economy grew a little less strongly at the start of last year than our initial estimates suggested but performed better in later quarters. Quarterly growth rates for 2025 are unrevised.
The agenda
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7am BST: GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: April to June 2025
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10.30am BST: European Central Bank president Lagarde speaks at the Bank of Finland’s monetary policy conference
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3pm BST: US JOLTS vacancies data
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Updated at 08.44 CEST
