Here are the stories making the business headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Wood adding 200 new jobs in Aberdeen
Aberdeen firm Wood said today it is recruiting for 200 new jobs in its home city and a total of 500 UK-wide.
Recent reports claimed cost-cutting across the multinational engineering and consulting business would lead to hundreds of roles being axed.
But Wood chief executive Ken Gilmartin told The Press and Journal the company is growing its headcount in the Granite City and globally.
He dismissed the reports about redundancies as “media speculation”.
Waste firm adds city jobs after winning £300,000 Port of Aberdeen contract
Waste management and recycling company EIS Waste Services has won a £300,000 contract to help Port of Aberdeen achieve its net zero ambitions.
The three-year contract will see EIS provide collection services across Port of Aberdeen’s estate, from visiting vessels to office facilities.
The port aims to become the UK’s first net zero port by 2040 and the new contract will support the reduction of its emissions.
This is because the waste will be sent to EIS’ purpose-built transfer station facility at Checkbar on the outskirts of Aberdeen, near Cove, which is fully powered by renewable energy.
AI 'risks up to eight million UK job losses with low-skilled worst hit', report warns
Up to eight million UK jobs are at risk from the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report warning that the low-skilled would be worst affected.
The effects of generative AI are already being widely felt as 11% of tasks done by workers are currently exposed, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said.
It said that back office, entry level and part-time jobs were at the highest risk of being disrupted during the so-called first wave, with women and young people the most likely to be affected as a result.
But its analysis showed that as more employers integrate AI technology into their work processes, up to 59% of tasks would be hit without government intervention, leaving the low-skilled most exposed.
Papa John's to close 43 branches across the UK to boost profit and investment
Nearly a tenth of Papa John's pizza outlets in the UK are to close in an effort to boost company profits.
A total of 43 of its 450 locations across the country have been found to be "low-performing" or "underperforming" and are said to no longer be financially viable.
The sites will be closed by mid-May, Papa John's said - after it informs impacted staff.
The company would not say how many jobs are to be lost; how many people work at the locations; nor the number of staff it employs across the UK.