Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
EY to axe 30 partners in biggest executive cull for decades
EY is preparing for one of its biggest partner redundancy rounds in decades as its new boss seeks to protect the firm’s profits in the face of a prolonged slowdown in professional services.
The big four firm is expected to axe 30 partners, mainly in its consulting division, according to those familiar with the matter. Anna Anthony, the firm’s managing partner for the UK and Ireland, announced the cull to partners earlier this month but did not elaborate on numbers.
EY employs 20,000 people across the UK and provides a range of professional services, including auditing the UK’s biggest companies, advising on corporate deals, restructuring struggling businesses and tax advice.
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Gen Z risks benefits crisis as four in 10 consider giving up work
Generation Z are giving up on work, a new study suggests, with almost four in 10 considering leaving their job and ending up on benefits.
PwC warned that a generation of workers were now in danger of permanently drifting out of the jobs market, and identified mental health conditions as a “major driver” of youth worklessness.
It said economic inactivity, where people are neither in work nor looking for a job, was on course to rise further, with 4.4m workers – one in 10 of the overall workforce – now “on the brink of leaving the labour market”.
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Trump moves to close down Voice of America
US President Donald Trump has signed an order to strip back federally funded news organisation Voice of America, accusing it of being "anti-Trump" and "radical".
A White House statement said the order would "ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda", and included quotes from politicians and right-wing media criticising the broadcaster.
VOA, still primarily a radio service, was set up during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda. It says it currently reaches hundreds of millions of people globally each week.
Tech firm Baidu unveils DeepSeek competitor in AI launch
The Chinese technology company Baidu has launched two new artificial intelligence models including a model that it claims can rival DeepSeek.
The Beijing-based group has said its new model, called Ernie X1, delivered “performance on a par with DeepSeek R1 at only half the price”. The X1 also had “stronger understanding, planning, reflection and evolution capabilities”, it claimed.
The Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek made waves in January after it unveiled its R1 reasoning model that it said used lower-cost chips and less data than its American rivals.
Musk forced to halt Cybertruck deliveries as parts fall off
Elon Musk’s Tesla has been forced to halt sales of its electric Cybertruck pickup amid mounting concern about metal panels falling off the supposedly indestructible vehicles.
Customers posting on the Cybertruck Owners Club website – as well as on Mr Musk’s own X, formerly Twitter – said they had been told by agents that deliveries were on hold.
Electric vehicle-enthusiast website Electrek said the decision was taken amid increasing instances of trim and panels “flying off the supposedly ‘bulletproof’ electric truck.”
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