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Layoffs & Tech Jobs55m ago

Up to 150 former WH Smith stores to close as high court approves restructure

Restructuring plan involves writing off debts to suppliers and cutting rent for many landlords Up to 150 former WH Smith high street stores are to close after the high court approved a swingeing restructure that could affect thousands of jobs. The retailer, which has 450 stores and employs about 5,000 staff, was bought last year by the private equity firm Modella Capital, which also owns Hobbycraft, and rebranded as TG Jones . It had warned it could have to call in administrators if the restructuring plan, which involves writing off debts to suppliers and cutting rent for many landlords, was not approved. On Wednesday Alex Willson, the chief executive of TG Jones, said: “We welcome the court’s approval of our restructuring plan. This decision allows us to move ahead with our turnaround strategy. “The plan protects the substantial core of the store estate and makes TG Jones a stronger, more sustainable business. We are incredibly grateful to all the colleagues, partners and stakeholders who engaged constructively throughout the process, and to Modella Capital for its continued financial commitment.” The high court judge Mr Justice Hildyard approved the restructure, despite criticising the short amount of time given for the court to consider the matter. TG Jones’s lawyers told the court on Monday that the retailer’s financial position was “horrendous”. The court heard the business faced a cash shortfall of almost £8m by the end of this week as it faced deadlines on rent, pay for workers and tax. Hossein Dabiri, the head of court reporting in Europe for credit analysis firm Debtwire, said the approval of the restructure under what is known as a “cram down” model that allows courts, in certain circumstances, to impose a restructuring on dissenting classes of creditors “has made it easier for companies to pursue faster and more aggressive restructurings, particularly when renegotiating retail leases”. Several different classes of creditor voted over two days last week on the restructure but the plan required approval – judged as backing from 75% or more – from just one class of creditor and from a high court judge to go ahead.

theguardian.com Read ↗

Layoffs & Tech Jobs1h ago

Mumbai rain warning: IMD issues ‘orange’ alert — Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane & more to get very heavy downpour

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued an ‘orange alert’ for Mumbai, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next few days. The weather agency said there is a possibility of extremely heavy rain at isolated locations. The IMD, in its district-wise forecast, also sounded a red alert for the coastal Ratnagiri district in Konkan for Wednesday, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places. In its latest monthly outlook, IMD said India is likely to receive below-normal rainfall in July, at less than 94% of the long-period average (LPA). The forecast followed India's driest June in more than a decade, and the fifth-driest since records began in 1901, with south-west monsoon rainfall 39.8% below the LPA. However, some areas of North-West and North-East India, East-Central India and the eastern peninsular region are expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer Stay updated with the latest Trending , India , World and US news.

Layoffs & Tech Jobs2h ago

Range anxiety

T he The storm developed quickly over west central Illinois on April 17th, first as a single high-intensity system called a supercell, and then later that evening transforming into a long squall line of thunderstorms. Tucked inside a wall of wind were several smaller, quick-forming tornadoes, one of which landed directly on Rivian’s electric vehicle factory on the outskirts of the college town of Normal. The ferocious storm knocked down one of the walls and tore through the plant’s roof like a can opener peeling back the lid. Bobby Dean Parker, vice president of manufacturing at Rivian, was at home in Normal when he got the call from someone at the factory. Parker, an affable Southerner, had already experienced his fair share of powerful Midwestern thunderstorms despite only being on the job for six months. But he quickly realized that this one was different. “Hey, it’s not good,” the person on the phone told him. “Oh shit,” Parker thought, before dashing out into the still-stormy night. Thousands of miles away at an event in Southern California, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s phone suddenly lit up with a flurry of texts. At first, information was scarce. Was anyone hurt? How bad was it?

theverge.com Read ↗

Tech leads first half stock gains — but the biggest winners weren't in the U.S.

From the source

More in Layoffs & Tech Jobs

Up to 150 former WH Smith stores to close as high court approves restructure

Mumbai rain warning: IMD issues ‘orange’ alert — Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane & more to get very heavy downpour

Range anxiety

Tech leads first half stock gains — but the biggest winners weren't in the U.S.

From the source

More in Layoffs & Tech Jobs

Up to 150 former WH Smith stores to close as high court approves restructure

Mumbai rain warning: IMD issues ‘orange’ alert — Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane &amp; more to get very heavy downpour

Range anxiety

Mumbai rain warning: IMD issues ‘orange’ alert — Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane & more to get very heavy downpour