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The chief executive of Primark, one of Europes biggest fast fashion retailers, has resigned after an investigation into his behavior toward a woman in a social environment. Paul Marchant, Primarks CEO since 2009, has apologized to the individual involved and resigned with immediate effect, the company said Monday. Shares in Primarks parent, Associated British Foods, fell 4.9% in early trading, compared with a 0.8% drop in Britains benchmark stock index. Marchant acknowledged his error of judgement and accepts that his actions fell below the standards expected by the company, Primark said in a statement. The retailer has 451 stores in 17 countries across Europe and the U.S. Eoin Tonge, finance director of Associated British Foods, has been name Primarks interim CEO, ABF said in a statement. The investigation was carried out by external lawyers and Marchant cooperated with the probe, Associated British Foods said. The company said it was committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive work environment. I am immensely disappointed, ABF Chief Executive George Weston said in a statement. We believe that high standards of integrity are essential. Acting responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term.
Category:
E-Commerce
Its safe to say that worker happiness and well-being is shaky at best. In 2024, just about half of all American employees reported feeling very satisfied with their jobs, and only about a third were happy with their pay or opportunities for promotion. Younger employees seem particularly frustrated by their working conditions: The latest edition of Gallups State of the Global Workplace report found that just 34% of workers said they were thriving, with a marked drop from 35% to 31% among those under the age of 35. While this sentiment persists across the American workforce, a new report from the Pew Research Center indicates that blue-collar workers are perhaps the most likely to feel dissatisfied and detached from their work. In a survey of more than 5,200 employees, only about 43% of those who identified as blue-collar workers said they were very satisfied with their jobswhile 53% of other workers expressed the same. (Pew defines blue-collar workers as those in such industries as manufacturing, agriculture, retail, hospitality, and transportation.) A key issue for many blue-collar workers who are frustrated by their jobs is pay. Overall, a third of them said they were dissatisfied with their compensation, though that figure was higher (40%) for women who held those jobs when compared to men (30%). The study found that workers had a variety of grievances, with many claiming that their wages did not keep pace with the rising cost of living; others said they were frustrated by pay inequities and that they earned less than colleagues who did comparable work. Beyond pay, blue-collar workers were also more dissatisfied with their health insurance coverage and lack of flexibility in working hours. But the greatest difference in how blue-collar workers feel about their jobs relative to other workers is whether they view it as a real career. More than half of blue-collar workers described what they do as “just a job to get you by,” rather than a career. (Women were even more likely to say that, with 61% characterizing their work as just a job.) Only a third said they considered their work to be a careerwhile 56% of other workers identified their jobs as careers. There is also a clear generational divide when it comes to happiness among blue-collar workers: Older workers were more likely to be satisfied with their job on all counts. In fact, nearly half of them said they viewed their work as a career. It’s possible that blue-collar workers feel less attached to their jobs in part because of how they are perceived. Less than a third of blue-collar workers said they believed other Americans respected their jobs, when compared to nearly half of all other workers feeling like their jobs demanded a certain level of respect. Many of them did, however, report feeling more respected by their colleagues or even by customers. Given their frustrations about compensation and often-limited opportunities for career advancement, it is hardly surprising that so many blue-collar workers feel that their work gets little recognition by the broader American public. But some things could be looking up: While too many blue-collar workers remain underpaid, they have also benefitted from historic wage growth in the aftermath of the pandemic.
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E-Commerce
A French court on Monday convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years a hammer blow to the far-right leaders presidential hopes and an earthquake for French politics. Speaking to French TV channel TF1 in her first reaction to the verdict, Le Pen called the ruling a political move aimed at preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election and said that millions of French people are outraged.” She called the verdict a violation of the rule of law, said she would appeal and asked that the court proceedings take place before the 2027 campaign. She would remain ineligible to be a candidate until the appeal is decided. Le Pen also was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, with two to be served under house arrest and two suspended. The court ruling was a political as well as a judicial temblor for France, hobbling one of the leading contenders to succeed President Emmanuel Macron at the end of his second and final term. So broad were the political implications that even some of Le Pen’s opponents said the Paris court had gone too far. But its too early to say how the case will affect voters. The potential elimination of Le Pen could fire up diehard supporters, just as U.S. Presidents Donald Trumps legal problems motivated some of his. But it could also leave her on the sidelines, deflating what had been her upward trajectory. Le Pen herself was not around to hear the chief judge pronounce the sentence that threw her career into a tailspin. By then, she had already strode out of the courtroom after the judge first indicated that the 56-year-old would be barred from office, without saying straight away for how long. Although Le Pen did not immediately comment, her supporters quickly expressed disapproval. Jordan Bardella, her 29-year-old protégé who could replace her on the ballot in 2027 if she cannot run, said on X that Le Pen was being unjustly condemned and that French democracy was being executed. Hungarys populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, quickly took to social media to express his support, posting Je suis Marine! I am Marine on X. Among political opponents of Le Pen who expressed unease was conservative lawmaker Laurent Wauquiez, who said the verdict put a very heavy weight on our democracy. A political death scenario The sentence could prevent Le Pen from making what would have been her fourth run for the presidency in 2027, a scenario she has previously described as a political death. The partys most recognized figurehead and a formidable campaigner, Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her partys electoral support has grown in recent years. Only an appellate ruling that overturns the ban on public office could restore her hopes of running. But with the election just two years away, time is running out. Theres no guarantee that an appeals court would rule more favorably, and appeals in France can take several years to conclude. The verdict was a resounding defeat for Le Pen’s National Rally party, formerly the National Front. She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation blocs regulations. The judge handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like Le Pen, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers. Also convicted were 12 people who served as parliamentary aides and three others. Only one defendant was acquitted. All had denied wrongdoing. The chief judge said Le Pen had been at the heart of a system that her party used to siphon off EU parliament funds, though she said they didn’t enrich themselves personally. The ruling described the embezzlement as a democratic bypass” that deceived the parliament and voters. From the front row of the court, Le Pen showed no immediate reaction when the judge first declared her guilty. But she grew more agitated as the verdict was delivered in greater detail. She shook her head in disagreement as the judge said Le Pens party illegally used European funds for its own benefit. Incredible, she whispered at one point. She then left without warning, picking up her bag and striding out, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. The abrupt departure left many in the courtroom in disbelief as they turned their heads toward the door. Rodolphe Bosselut, Le Pen’s lawyer, said he was appalled at the courts decision, which he described as extremely scandalous and said it would be appealed. The electoral ineligibility takes effect immediately, but the house arrest is suspended while she appeals. Le Pen has enjoyed growing support During the nine-week trial that took place in late 2024, Le Pen argued that ineligibility would have the effect of depriving me of being a presidential candidate” and disenfranchise her supporters. There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election, she told the panel of three judges. Le Pen also serves as a lawmaker in France’s National Assembly, a role not affected by the ineligibility ruling that she can keep for now. But if Macron dissolves parliament again, as he did last year, and calls early legislative elections, she would be barred from running. Sylvie Corbet and John Leicester, Associated Press Thomas Adamson and Justin Spike contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
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