Tech

LG Chem Offers Voluntary Retirement to Employees Under Wage-Peak System Lotte Chemical Accelerates Restructuring of Facilities Nationwide How Japan Led—and Succeeded—in Petrochemical Industry Restructuring LG Chem has begun offering voluntary ret

Rapid advancement in Chinese semiconductor equipment technology, qualitative improvements Growing presence in front-end processes with high technological entry barriers Japan losing ground, ceding second place to Europe Ins

Tariffs framed as job protection often act instead as taxes on critical inputs Employment in U.S.

Korean Small Businesses Turn Away from Coupang and Naver, Build Their Own Online Stores Running their own platforms eliminates commission fees and strengthens branding "But not always a success" — Nike lost competitiveness after adopting a D2C strategy

“China’s Nvidia” Cambricon has seen its results improve since late last year. Adoption by domestic big techs such as DeepSeek is driving a surge in AI chip demand. Major players including Huawei and SMIC are focusing on expanding production capacity.

Rise of ‘Disposable Software’ Driven by AI Advances Automation of Code Writing, Review, and Debugging AI Supplanting Developers, Triggering Layoffs Across IT Sector A new era of “disposable software,” enabling individuals to swiftly create cus

China’s Huawei and SMIC push to expand production facilities. Smuggling reportedly rampant as firms seek to reduce reliance on Nvidia. DeepSeek and ByteDance make strong advances in the AI software market. Chinese companies are accelerating

Logistics Industry Paralyzed by New Trade BarriersLatin American Drive for Industrial Protection Ends in Tariffs

U.S.

Talks With Mistral AI and Perplexity AbandonedFocus Shifts to Hardware and Infrastructure Investment

Intensifying AI ‘Job Onslaught’ Indian creators, developers, and office workers exposed to AI threat Hiring volume plunges 75%, as many as 500,000 jobs may vanish within 2–3 years India’s IT services sector, long a global outsourcing powerhous

“AI Took My Job”: Youth employment plunges in certain sectors. Repetitive and easily automated roles are being replaced the fastest. Yet new jobs are emerging, signaling a major AI-driven industrial shift. Generative AI is increasingly seen as limit

Chinese Automakers’ Rise Deepens Crisis High Energy Costs from Nuclear Phase-Out and War Defense Industry Thrives Amid Europe’s Rearmament Germany’s automotive sector, long the backbone of its economy, has shed more than 50,000 jobs

Lawsuit alleges unfair competition by rivalsStrategy seen as amplifying presence through conflict

Seniority-based personnel system as impediment to innovation Comprehensive shift toward job value and expertise Compensations aligned with performance regardless of job level Lotte Department Store is introducing a new “expertise growth-center

United States Sees Rapid Expansion of AI- and Robotics-Based Smart Farming Adoption of Robots Mitigates Labor Shortages Market Projected to Reach $188 Billion by 2036 U.S.

Rising AP expenses erode internal profitabilityGains from strong sales flow to Qualcomm’s bottom line

“AI Can Suffer Too”: Anthropic highlights the need for AI welfare. Is conscious AI just an illusion born from system misinterpretation? Microsoft’s AI lead raises concerns over AI psychosis and related risks. In Silicon Valley, so-called “AI welfare

Chinese Manufacturers Formalize Entry into Korean Appliance Market Expansion into Premium Segment Fuels All-Out Offensive Value-for-Money and Customization Strategies Target Consumer Demand Chinese appliance makers are moving aggressively into So

This article is based on ideas originally published by VoxEU – Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and has been independently rewritten and extended by The Economy editorial team. While inspired by the original analysis, the content presented here reflects a broader interpretation and additional commentary. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of VoxEU or CEPR.