It looks as though more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) will have taken place in 2007 than ever before. But two things never change about M&A deals: first, that a large number will fail to deliver what the architects of the deal promised and sec  More...
08 October 2007 11:14

The AA has completed its senior management shake-up following a £6.2bn merger with Saga . Last week, Personnel Today revealed that Martin Sawkins, the motoring services group's long-standing human resources director, had left the company .   More...
26 September 2007 09:26

SPITTING FEATHERS... The GMB union has been accused of fowl play after its latest publicity stunt to attack the new owners of the AA . The union aims to give the company's boss Andrew Goodsell the bird by opening a chicken farm in East Farleigh in  More...
24 September 2007 10:15

Indian call centre operator, Hero ITES, has pledged to increase its staff base in the UK following its multimillion pound acquisition of local operator, Telecom Service Centres (TSC). TSC, which has more than 3,000 employees in nine UK sites, the ma  More...
10 September 2007 12:04

HR professionals should not fear private equity takeovers, the head of HR at nationwide chain Pets at Home has insisted. Ryan Cheyne told Personnel Today that people management at the company was healthier since it was bought for £230m by private   More...
21 August 2007 08:32

Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel has agreed an £8bn takeover of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), the maker of Dulux paint. Akzo, whose coatings are used on Airbus’s A380 superjumbo, and ICI, will create the world’s biggest paint manufacturer  More...
15 August 2007 11:54

Support services group Mouchel Parkman has acquired business processing outsourcing (BPO) firm HBS for £46m, extending its presence in the government outsourcing market. The two companies already work together in a £300m 12-year strategic services   More...
08 August 2007 14:17

An offshoring superpower has been created with French IT services giant Steria's acquisition of UK outsourcing firm Xansa for £456m. Xansa, which has increasingly won contracts offshoring jobs including HR positions, now has more than 5,000 employee  More...
07 August 2007 12:30

It amazes me that two-thirds of companies going through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fail to consult their HR departments, even though we know that leaders cannot afford to overlook the most important aspect of this transition - the people dimension (  More...
24 July 2007 08:00

Chief executive of Alliance Boots, Richard Baker, has resigned from the company, less than a month after it was taken over by private equity firm KKR. Baker announced his resignation after discussing the option of continuing in   More...
16 July 2007 10:39

The AA's HR director has acted to calm fears of job cuts after the GMB union re-ignited concerns over the motoring group's £6bn merger with Saga . Martin Sawkins told Personnel Today that there were no plans to make any large- scale changes to   More...
10 July 2007 00:00

Private equity companies have come under a fresh attack for enjoying tax breaks. This time it was the turn of merged firms Saga and the AA , which defended BBC accusations that they incurred zero liability for corporation tax last y  More...
04 July 2007 10:07

The head of the AA's main union has welcomed management assurances on job security following the motoring services group's £6.2bn merger  with Saga . Alistair MacLean, national secretary of the AA Democratic Union (AADU),  sa  More...
04 July 2007 08:45

Premier Foods is to shed up to 580 jobs following a review of its UK manufacturing facilities. Premier, maker of Branston Pickle and Oxo stock cubes, said it intended to close six of 11 sites covered by the review and would invest signifi  More...
03 July 2007 13:37

The current trend for consolidation in HR services and outsourcing looks set to continue, but what will that mean for the profession?  More...
05 June 2007 08:00

Reuters HR boss Stephen Dando is to head the human resources function at the newly formed Thomson-Reuters company following the £8.7bn takeover of the Reuters information empire earlier this month. Dando becomes chief human resources offi  More...
30 May 2007 10:08

When Henkel - home of household detergents - acquired Sellotape, things could have been a bit sticky or spun out of control. But the HR team made sure former Sellotape staff were happy to stick with their new employer. Helen Kelly reports.  More...
29 May 2007 08:00

Q I am the managing director of an organisation with around 600 staff and have recently bought out a smaller company of around 50. While both companies are successful and results-driven, they have significantly different cultures. We have always been fa  More...
29 May 2007 00:00

The TUC is calling on the government to introduce a set of measures to deal with ‘threats’ to the economy and workforce from the growth of private equity funded takeovers. In its submission to the Treasury Select Committee , the TUC said that  More...
24 May 2007 10:26

Housebuilder Barratt Developments will shed up to 400 jobs in the wake of its £2.2bn purchase of rival, Wilson Bowden , which took place on 26 April. The Leicestershire and Newcastle head offices of both firms may close, while Barratt said   More...
02 May 2007 14:30