Amazon job cull shows the darker side of artificial intelligence
But this one was the type we prefer not to see: a cull of thousands of jobs at tech giant Amazon. The scale of Amazon’s job losses is notable only because the company has grown into such a behemoth in recent years. More AI would mean fewer corporate staff at Amazon, with generative AI and high-tech agents picking up the slack. Artificial intelligence, although yet to make good on all its promises, has given companies a way to cut costs without sacrificing their business. Going back to Jassy’s original communication, the corporate cull at Amazon has begun.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 18:03 UTC
Who were RTÉ’s highest earners in 2024? Top-10 list a mix of executives and presenters
Joe Duffy, who retired this year, was RTÉ’s highest earner in 2024, when he made €351,000. Photograph: Andres PovedaThe new list of top 10 earners in RTÉ is split between presenters and executives, following the introduction of salary caps at the national broadcaster. Joe Duffy was RTÉ’s highest-paid presenter in 2024, earning €351,000, according to figures from RTÉ’s 2024 Annual Report. In 2023, RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst announced that no one at the broadcaster would earn more than his salary of €250,000. The top 10 highest-paid presenters for 2024 are as follows:Joe Duffy: €351,000 (2024); €351,000 (2023) Claire Byrne: €280,000 (2024); €280,000 (2023) Patrick Kielty: €257,657 (2024) Miriam O’Callaghan: €246,708 (2024); €263,500 (2023) Brendan O’Connor: €244,099 (2024); €245,004 (2023) Ray D’Arcy: €220,409 (2024); €250,000 (2023) Mary Wilson: €209,545 (2024); €199,194 (2023) Dáithí Ó Sé: €196,885 (2024) George Lee: €195,939 (2024); €185,674 (2023) Darragh Maloney: €194,902 (2024); €186,650 (2023)Ray D’Arcy, one of the broadcaster’s highest paid individuals in recent years, left RTÉ earlier this month after his contract was not renewed.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:19 UTC
Is there life in The Witcher after Henry Cavill’s exit?
But now Geralt faces his greatest challenge yet: the exit of lead actor Henry Cavill. Cavill stepped down as Geralt in October 2022, weeks after cameras had stopped rolling on The Witcher series three. To Hissrich, at least, the answer is obvious: the new Witcher is a keeper. “It was sad [but] for me, my friendship with Henry ... he’s not dead. If you know Henry, he’s got a very dry sense of humour.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:13 UTC
Drone delivery company refused permission to retain hub in Blanchardstown
The Manna hub had been carrying out deliveries for a number of independent food providers in the Dublin 15 area. Photograph: Nick BradshawDrone delivery company Manna has been refused permission to retain a drone delivery hub in west Dublin. The decision to apply for retention planning permission was out of an “abundance of caution”, the original application to the council said. The decision does not impact the company’s existing drone hub near the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, for which the company was already granted permission. It has also applied for planning permission for a delivery hub in Tallaght, and another in Dundrum, both of which are subject to requests for further information by planning authorities.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:09 UTC
Microsoft outage results in email issues, airport delays, and problems for Xbox gamers
Delays in Microsoft’s Outlook email system and problems accessing Microsoft 365 online services were reported. There were uncomfortable, albeit brief, echoes of last July’s Microsoft outage caused by a faulty security software update that caused widespread chaos for days afterwards. But the damage that the incident has inflicted on people’s confidence in cloud services will be harder to repair. It does not help that the latest cloud service outage is the second in as many weeks. Cloud computing is largely dominated by three big companies: Microsoft, Amazon and Google, with other major players that include IBM, Oracle and Alibaba.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:02 UTC
ECB in a holding pattern on interest rates
The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to keep interest rates at 2 per cent this week, as the weak dollar and trade diversion from China continue to dampen inflation risks. Despite the still uncertain fallout from US tariffs, a kind of equilibrium has settled on the euro zone economy with inflation and interest rates both steady at 2 per cent. Hence, it sees interest rates rising again, but not until 2027. ECB chief Christine Lagarde said officials must ensure food inflation eases. Speaking in Florence, where the ECB holds its policy meeting this month, Lagarde said food inflation was “still up and it’s more up than” headline inflation.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:01 UTC
The Queens restaurant, Dalkey: One of the most bizarre finales to a meal I’ve had in years
Roast beef at The Queens in Dalkey. Photograph: Nick BradshawThe Queens in Dalkey. The peach and coconut panna cotta (€9) is one of the most bizarre finales to a meal I’ve had in years. The Verdict: Roast beef like upholstery, dessert like science fiction. Food provenance: Robinson Meat; fish from Bunagee Pier, Culdaff and Greencastle, Donegal.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:01 UTC
Property fund warns Irish investors of ‘knee-jerk’ redemption risk for €1.26bn portfolio
The alert comes as the fund, which is backed by about 8,000 Irish investors, faced an uptick in redemption requests in the third quarter of this year. They set up its flagship Greenman Open fund in 2014. “This decision was taken in light of confirmation received from Greenman Investments, the fund manager of the Greenman Fund, of a delay in the payment of redemptions,” said a spokesman for the insurance group. Mr Wilkinson said he believed it was also down to the interests of Greenman Open and Aviva “no longer being aligned”. He said delayed payments due on redemption requests at the end of 2024 and the first quarter of this year would be made around November 28th.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:01 UTC
MacBook Pro M5 review: Apple sticking to the tried and tested
MacBook Pro M5: given its cost, most people would likely expect an Apple charger in the boxApple MacBook Pro M5 Price : €1849 Website : https://www.apple.com/ie/ Opens in new window Where To Buy : AppleThe desktop computer is an increasingly rare office fixture these days. That is especially true when you look at Apple’s MacBook Pro. I’ve been using the new M5 MacBook Pro for more than a week, replacing my regular work laptop for most tasks. It comes in two colours – space black and silver – the MacBook Pro is all serious business, so there are no bold colours here. VerdictThe MacBook Pro M5 is a powerful all-rounder.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 17:00 UTC
Dawn Meats deal in New Zealand a head scratcher for local farmers
New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon, left, alongside Dawn Meats chief executive Niall Browne and EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic at the inaugural EU-New Zealand Business Summit in Auckland last weekDawn Meats chief executive Niall Browne’s victory lap in New Zealand last week ended with him as poster boy at the inaugural EU-New Zealand Business Summit in Auckland. In the New Zealand meat industry, however, there has been much head-scratching at Dawn’s pursuit of the country’s biggest lamb processor, and third-largest overall. And then there were the touted benefits to customers of beef and lamb year-round, augmented by out-of-season supply from Alliance. Unsurprisingly, New Zealand beef exporters aren’t welcoming more competition in the local livestock market at a time when margins are already thin. “The only way to get a material beef business is to rip the heart out of the procurement market,” one predicted.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 16:59 UTC
Breast cancer diagnoses increase 26% in women under-50
There were 852 breast cancer diagnoses among women aged 20 to 49 in 2022. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PAThe number of women aged 20 to 49 being diagnosed with breast cancer increased by more than a quarter over a 10-year period, figures show. Data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland showed there were 677 breast cancer diagnoses among women aged 20 to 49 in 2013, but this rose to 852 by 2022 – a 26 per cent increase. “I’ve seen younger women who have had their children and they might have noticed changes in their breasts,” she said. It’s responsible for one in eight breast cancers in Ireland.”Am HSE spokeswoman said the number of women being diagnosed with breast cancer was increasing across all ages, not just younger women.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 16:49 UTC
Giving stalling car industry a break on petrol-engine ban could be a mistake
The combustion engine ban, which was approved by the European Parliament and national governments two years ago, is in the sights of the stalling car industry. German chancellor Friedrich Merz is on a mission to strip back EU regulations he views as a burden on European industry. Von der Leyen needs to give something to the car industry, but still hang on to the broad ambition of her legislation. Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right Italian government has lined up beside Germany in opposition to the 2035 ban. Ban or no ban, Europe is up against the clock to produce affordable electric vehicles.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 16:48 UTC
UK government spends nearly €5m on legal defence of Bloody Sunday’s Soldier F
Supporters of Soldier F leave Belfast Crown Court after he was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder on October 23rd. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFPThe UK government has spent £4.3 million (€4.9 million) so far on the defence of a former British army paratrooper accused of two murders during the events of Bloody Sunday. The UK government has confirmed it has spent £4.3 million so far, adding the sum “may rise marginally” once the final bills are received. “As part of this, Soldier F has received legal and welfare support throughout his legal proceedings at public expense,” he said. “These costs cover the period from when Soldier F was initially charged in March 2019.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 16:47 UTC
ECB keeps rates unchanged while warning of uncertain impact from tariffs
The ECB has kept interest rates unchanged for the third consecutive month. Photograph: DANIEL ROLAND/AFP via Getty ImagesThe European Central Bank (ECB) has kept interest rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting as it weighs up the outlook for inflation and the still uncertain fallout from US trade tariffs. After eight straight rate cuts, the bank now appears to have moved into a holding pattern. “The robust labour market, solid private sector balance sheets and the governing council’s past interest rate cuts remain important sources of resilience,” it said. Despite the US tariffs, despite all the various sources of uncertainty, the European economy continues to eke out some growth,” he said.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 16:38 UTC
We’re being conned about climate change, but not in the way Donald Trump says
“Climate change,” he claimed, “is the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and “renewable energy is inflicting expensive energy costs on Europe”. Of course, Trump has never sought to hide his views on global climate. Trump: “The executive director of the UN Environmental Programme predicted that by the year 2000, climate change would cause a global catastrophe. Climate change, if it goes higher or lower, whatever the hell happens, it’s climate change. In the 1970s, the political strategist Frank Luntz suggested conservative politicians and journalists should adopt the term “climate change” as it was more suggestive of a natural phenomenon.
Source:The Irish Times
October 30, 2025 16:34 UTC