Business Today: TikTok Irish jobs under threat

There are fears for Irish jobs at video-sharing platform TikTok after the company confirmed it would cut hundreds of jobs worldwide. As Ciara O’Brien reports, while the company did not say how many jobs would be lost in Ireland, but sources believe that a significant number of the losses announced will affect Irish staff. It is understood that the trust and safety teams, which are responsible for moderation on the platform, will not be impacted by the round of job cuts.

Planners are seeking more information from Dublin Airport on its call to increase the yearly limit on passengers to 40 million from 32 million currently. Barry O’Halloran has the latest on the saga.

In Your Money, Dominic Coyle looks at why a summer job in your teens can you have a huge impact on your pension in retirement, while can a widow benefit from a pension not claimed 25 years ago?

The difference between the lowest and highest mortgage rates on the Irish market has hit a record 3.3 per cent, as homeowners may be paying an average of up to €7,292 in extra repayments per year by not switching lenders. Ellen O’Regan reports.

Ellen also reports that credit unions mortgage lending saw a “significant increase” in the final quarter of last year, as the sector’s total mortgage book surpassed €500 million. Mortgage lending increased 15 per cent during the final three months of 2023, according to the latest quarterly results for members of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) which represents almost all active credit unions in the Republic of Ireland.

In her column, Laura Slattery asks if the media industry will benefit from the wave of general elections this year, at a time when the sector appears to be struggling.

Tax relief on pensions savings should be extended to allow for larger retirement funds, according to KPMG. It says inflation, changes in life expectancy and interest rates mean the rules put in place a decade ago are no longer fit for purpose. Dominic Coyle has the details.

Yuno Energy, the newest electricity retailer in the Irish market, has cut its fixed rate for new customers for the third time since the start of 2024. Colin Gleeson has the details, and he also goes through where electricity prices stand now after a number of cuts by different suppliers.

As RTÉ lurches from crisis to crisis, Cantillon looks at the bind director general Kevin Bakhurst is in when citing confidentiality clauses around executive payouts, while also assessing the potential fallout from Germany’s lurch into recession for the Irish economy.

A pioneering new €40 million social and affordable housing development earmarked for Galway city, which will be constructed using modern methods of construction (MMC), has been announced by approved housing body Tuath Housing. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports.

The high-end Inis Meáin knitwear firm that counts the likes of Bergdorf Goodman in New York City as a stockist has “a huge future” if the business can continue to grow its online direct sales to customers, according to its founder. Tarlach de Blacam, founding director of Cniotáil Inis Meáin Teoranta, made his comment as he said the business last year increased its overall sales to “about €2.5 million”. Gordon Deegan has the accounts.

From an empty house to a cold house to a new house, there are now plenty of Government-backed schemes offering a range of financial incentives to help you renovate, retrofit or buy your home. But as Fiona Reddan writes, it’s worth reading the fine print before you take the cash, as many of them have clawback provisions if you don’t fulfil the requirements you sign up to.

Stay up to date with all our business news: sign up to our Business Today daily email news digest. If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.