This
week’s international news.
Eastern
European migration was exaggerated
–
The level of migrants moving from eastern to western European countries is at
its lowest level since the period from 1989 to 1992, claims a report by the
OECD. It said fears of mass migration from are exaggerated. In Eastern Europe,
the Czech Republic and Hungary are the most popular countries that migrants
look for employment in, with Bulgaria and Romania the least attractive. www.oecd.org
‘At
will’ staff sue dotcoms over false promises
–
Dotcom companies laying off staff in the US have been forced to pay
compensation, even to employees without contracts, a report by the Society for
Human Resource Management has found. In theory, most staff affected are known
as "at will" employees and can be made redundant without explanation.
But they might successfully sue their former employer if they can prove the
company induced them to take a job by misrepresenting facts about its capital
and prospects. www.shrm.org
Merger
is not always the way to bank efficiency
–
Two-thirds of international bank mergers and acquisitions fail to achieve their
objectives, according to a report by the International Labour Office. The
report claims that the benefits of greater size and efficiency are being
"nullified by increasing complexity and losses related to top-heavy
organisations, while the difficulties of adequately blending cultural and other
human factors in the integration of combined enterprises are often
underestimated". Redundancies due to mergers and acquisition can also
undermine operational capabilities and morale. www.ilo.org/communications
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eToys
puts an end to the Internet game
–
US-based Internet retailer eToys closed last week. More than 1,000 staff in
California and Europe have been laid off and it ran up reported debts of £160m.
The company was launched in 1997 and floated two years later. It closed its UK
site in January before filing for bankruptcy in February.
