Vladimir Putin has steadily expanded the Russian state’s involvement in an economy that’s increasingly dominated by large companies. The coronavirus crisis, with its lopsided financial assistance that benefits big employers more than entrepreneurs, looks set to continue this process. In the short term, this will strengthen the hand of a vulnerable president. Over the longer term, it spells stagnation. Governments ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc will cut thousands of jobs representing as much as 30% of the workforce to cope with a long-term hit to demand from the coronavirus crisis. Europe’s second-biggest discount carrier will begin employee consultations in coming days, it said in a statement on Thursday. The Luton, England-based firm has about 15,000 workers, suggesting 4,500 posts are at risk. ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc plans to cut 30% of its management and support staff as it tries to weather the dramatic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The move was announced in a letter to staff from Elise Eberwein, American’s executive vice president of people and global engagement. Other cost-saving steps include requiring staff to take 50% of ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co unveiled the first and deepest of its planned job cuts, saying it would notify 6,770 employees in the US that their positions would be eliminated. The collapse in air travel sparked by the coronavirus pandemic has sapped demand for jetliners, forcing Boeing to scale back its commercial business, Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said in a message ...

Bloomberg Ralph Lauren Corp has reopened a significant portion of its global store network and will accelerate its digital plans as pandemic restrictions ease around the world. Chief Executive Officer Patrice Louvet said all stores in China and Korea are back in business, and Japan and Australia are set to return this week. Two-thirds of Ralph Lauren stores have been ...

Bloomberg Scandinavia’s main carrier SAS AB warned shareholders it will need to generate more funding to see it through the crisis triggered by Covid-19. The company has halted most of its traffic and started a process to cut 5,000 jobs, it said. SAS is in “ongoing and constructive discussions” with its “largest owners on a recapitalisation plan to secure adequate ...

Bloomberg Chinese lawmakers approved a proposal for sweeping new national security legislation in Hong Kong, defying a threat by US President Donald Trump to respond strongly to a measure that democracy advocates say will curb essential freedoms in the city. The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber-stamp legislature, approved the draft decision by a vote of 2,878-1 at its annual ...

Bloomberg China’s Premier Li Keqiang struck a conciliatory tone with the US, saying that the two sides should cooperate and respect each other’s interests as tensions escalate on many fronts. As he spoke, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to cancel the visas of thousands of graduate students and researchers in the US with direct ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson appealed to the UK to “move on” from the controversy over claims that his top adviser broke lockdown rules, as the prime minister tried to fight off a growing revolt from within his own party. Johnson said he was “sorry” for the “pain” and “anguish” the public had suffered since March, when he ordered sweeping restrictions on ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s federal police targeted allies of President Jair Bolsonaro as part of an investigation mandated by the Supreme Court into the spread of fake news, potentially fuelling an institutional crisis between the three branches of government. Search and seizure orders were carried out in six states under a probe led by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. In his decision, Moraes ...