Boardroom gender quotas ‘dangerous’, says Burberry boss
Burberry boss Angela Ahrendts has dismissed the idea of quotas to boost the number of women in the boardroom as "dangerous", despite growing evidence of discrimination in the business world and the prospect of just two female chief executives in the FTSE 100 next year. Ahrendts said on Wednesday that is was about “putting the best person in the job who can unite people and create value." The recent resignations of Pearson boss Dame Marjorie Scardino and Cynthia Carroll, the chief executive of mining firm Anglo American, have reignited the debate about the lack of women at the top of Britain's biggest companies. Their departures will leave just Ahrendts and Imperial Tobacco's Alison Cooper fronting FTSE 100 companies in 2013. (Guardian)
Wage inequality rises across the UK
Pay rates have risen much faster for the wealthy in the past 25 years than for the poorest, official figures show. The average full-time hourly rate was £12.62 in April 2011, compared to £3.87 in 1986, says the Office for National Statistics. After adjusting for inflation, this equates to a 62 percent rise in wages. But while the lowest 10 percent of earners have seen their hourly rates rise 47 percent in real terms, the highest 10 percent of earners have enjoyed an 81 percent rise. In 1986, the richest segment earned eight times more than the poorest, now they earn 10 times more per hour. (BBC, Guardian)
Vestas cuts 3,000 jobs as wind industry falters
The world’s biggest wind turbine manufacturer is cutting a further 3,000 jobs after warning that it will slide into the red this year amid falling sales and rising costs. The job losses announced by Vestas come on top of the 3,700 already announced this year as its management desperately tries to unwind a disastrous expansion plan. The Danish group’s shares dropped after the analysts questioned the future of the business in a widespread industry downturn. The company reported a 70 per cent fall in orders in the third quarter compared with last year, while pre-tax profits of €13m were well below expectations of €53m. Wind turbine manufacturers globally have been hit overcapacity, rising costs and shrinking demand as cash-strapped governments cut subsidies for wind farms. (Times*)
Corporate Reputation
EADS offices raided in corruption inquiry
Prosecutors in Germany confirmed on Wednesday that police officers had raided several offices of European Aeronautic Defense & Space (EADS) as part of an investigation – opened this summer – into alleged corruption in the sale of Eurofighter jets to Austria. The German police raids on EADS offices around Munich took place on Tuesday and coincided with searches of several homes in Hamburg and in Austria and Switzerland. Prosecutors declined to name any of the individuals under investigation or to say how many there were, nor did they disclose the nature of the documents seized. An EADS spokesman confirmed that the raids took place and said the company was cooperating fully with investigators. (New York Times, BBC)
COMMENTS