Your commercial news round-up: weather, Rishi Sunak, Amazon, Ryanair and Channel 4

Reading time: four minutes

Happy New Year! Welcome back to the commercial news round-up. Starting with a reflection on 2022, we’ll take a look at the changes in the UK’s average annual temperature before looking forward to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans for the future. We also touch on Amazon’s announcement of staff cuts, Ryanair’s unusual reason for growing profits, Meta’s recent fines and Channel 4’s plans to go private… or not.

• The average annual temperature in 2022 hit a high of 10 degrees for the first time ever, according to the Met Office. With a mean temperature of 10.03 degrees, 2022 topped the previous high of 9.88 degrees which was set in 2014. BBC News concludes that this means 15 of the UK’s top 20 warmest years have occurred in this century. Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: "Although an arbitrary number, the UK surpassing an annual average temperature of 10C is a notable moment in our climatological history.” This is perhaps unsurprising following the spell of heatwaves in June 2022, the fourth warmest summer the UK has experienced on record. The Met Office added that with medium levels of greenhouse gas emissions, the 10-degree average temperature could occur almost every year.
   
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made his first major speech of the year, putting forward plans for health, education and the economy. As part of his address, Sunak outlined a five-point strategy for the run up to the next general election, emphasising that pay rises would occur in the public sector and committing to economic growth for the UK. His other promises included, ensuring national debt is falling, cutting NHS waiting lists and passing new laws to prevent small boats crossing the English Channel. Sunak also used the opportunity to launch a new policy: Making maths education compulsory for all up to age 18. Speaking about the policy, he said: “This is personal for me. Every opportunity I’ve had in life began with the education I was so fortunate to receive.”
   
• Reports suggest that following heavy criticism, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has scrapped plans to privatise Channel 4. Last April, under the premiership of Boris Johnson, the government announced that the television channel would be privatised. According to Sky News, Donelan previously cast doubt on the plans, stating that she was re-examining the "business case" to make sure "we still agree with that decision". However, a leaked letter, allegedly seen by the News Agents Podcast on Wednesday, discloses plans to scrap the policy altogether. A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson has said: "We do not comment on speculation.”
   
• Facebook and Instagram overhead Meta has been fined €390 million for breaking EU data rules. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) argues that the way Meta asked for permission to use individuals’ data for ads across Instagram and Facebook was unlawful. Meta now has three months to change the way it gains and uses data to produce target ads. As the platforms European headquarters are in Ireland, the DPC is the leading authority when it comes to ensuring Meta complies with EU Law. The Irish Times claims that Meta has set aside €2 billion to cover possible European fines in 2023.
   
• Amazon has announced that it will cut more than 18,000 jobs – the largest number of redundancies in the company’s history. The company alluded to “the uncertain economy” as a justification for this choice in an announcement made on Wednesday 4 January 2023. Amazon’s Chief Executive Andrew Jassy stated to employees: “Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles.” The cuts are thought to largely impact those working in the company’s physical retailers, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go. The layoffs equate to 6% of Amazon’s approximate 300,000-person corporate workforce, which is part of a global workforce of more than one million.
   
• In more unusual news, in these challenging economic times Ryanair profits are expected to rise in 2023. The low-cost airline has raised its profit guidance for 2023 to between €1.32 billion and €1.42 billion. This is a 25% boost from its initial projections, which sat between €1 billion and €1.20 billion. The forecast was raised by analysts following a better than expected third quarter for the airline, as they carried 11.5 million passengers in December 2022. Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, has previously said that the company would grow in a recession, telling City AM that people “in a recession will get much more price sensitive”. As a budget airline, analysts agree with O’Leary’s theory, with people expected to search for cheaper ways to travel in 2023.

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