Meanwhile a government spokesperson said significant action had been taken to support the UK automotive industry by lowering electricity bills for manufacturers as well as financial support for the manufacture and sale of zero emission vehicles.

Reynolds was also understood to have spoken with West Midlands mayor, Richard Parker, about supporting the business and its staff.

JLR said over the past three years, it had strengthened its brands and had prepared for production of its next generation of vehicles.

In July, the company said it expected fewer than 300 people would leave the firm under cost savings plans announced at the time.

The company has its global headquarters at Whitley, Coventry, and manufacturing sites in Solihull and Wolverhampton as well as Halewood on Merseyside.

It employs about 30,000 people in its UK operations, with approximately 10,000 people employed at plants overseas.

The cyber attack in September 2025 led to the shut down of all manufacturing at JLR for several weeks, meaning not a single vehicle rolled off its production lines.

That led to a 27% drop in overall production at the company, which is one of the West Midlands’ biggest employers.

The overall cost of the cyber-attack and the subsequent loss of manufacturing was estimated to be £1.9bn.

In June, the firm announced it planned to cut about £1.7bn in costs over the coming years to help towards its recovery from the attack.

JLR had indicated at the time that it would make the savings through cuts in areas such as materials, warranty and fixed costs.

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JLR has not confirmed the scale of the job cuts, but said they would “simplify” the business and “improve efficiency and build greater resilience”.

“Today, we informed our colleagues, and trade union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business,” a spokesperson said.

“We will share further information with our colleagues first.” It did not rule out the prospect of some compulsory redundancies as part of the plans.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union had been warning about a “perfect storm” hanging over the automotive industry for some time.

“Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments,” she said.

She added there had been “intensive” discussions over the weekend about mitigating jobs losses.

Reynolds was asked about the impact on the car industry of the UK’s electric vehicle sales target, which means manufacturers must ensure a percentage of the cars they sell each year are zero emissions, with the target rising each year to reach 80% by 2030.

He said one of the first things he had done as business secretary was give the industry more flexibility to work towards that and said there was a further consultation open on it.

“It’s not where it needs to be and that’s why we’re willing to change the regulation to work with where consumer demand is and the industry,” he added.

He said he had also spoken with West Midlands mayor Richard Parker about supporting the business and its staff.

JLR in July said fewer than 300 people would leave the firm under cost savings plans announced at the time.

It employs about 30,000 people in its UK operations, with approximately 10,000 people employed at plants overseas.

The cyber attack in September 2025 led to the shut down of all manufacturing at JLR for several weeks, meaning not a single vehicle rolled off its production lines.

That led to a 27% drop in overall production at the company, which is one of the West Midlands’ biggest employers.

The overall cost of the cyber-attack and the subsequent loss of manufacturing was estimated to be £1.9bn.

In June, the firm announced it planned to cut about £1.7bn in costs over the coming years to help towards its recovery from the attack.

JLR had indicated at the time that it would make the savings through cuts in areas such as materials, warranty and fixed costs.

Additional reporting by Simon Jack

NEW YORK — LeBron James has teased an upcoming individual partnership with Polymarket, the prediction market platform, becoming the first NBA player to sign such an agreement with the company as prediction markets continue expanding their reach across professional sports.

James posted a 14-second video Saturday on X and Instagram appearing to promote the partnership, showing the four-time NBA champion inside an elevator at what the video labeled “Polymarket HQ.” The elevator’s buttons displayed categories including sports, politics, crypto, economy, culture and weather, with James selecting the sports option before walking into a busy office-style setting.

“Welcome to Polymarket HQ. Coming soon,” James wrote in the post. “In partnership with Polymarket.”

Polymarket quickly responded to James’s post on X.

“Thanks for stopping by our HQ,” the company wrote.

The specific terms and full scope of James’s role in the partnership have not been publicly disclosed. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that the campaign between James and Polymarket will focus specifically on football, and that additional details are expected in the days ahead. A Polymarket spokesperson told The Athletic that the company hopes to leverage “James’ love for the sport” as the football season approaches.

According to Front Office Sports, the partnership comes shortly after James’s prior endorsement deal with DraftKings expired earlier this summer. A source familiar with the arrangement told the outlet that Saturday’s post marked the first step in a larger campaign expected to launch early this week, with the football-focused partnership structure mirroring James’s earlier DraftKings deal, which he first signed in 2024.

James’s Polymarket announcement generated significant engagement online, racking up nearly 10 million views within seven hours of being posted, according to Front Office Sports. The reaction was not universally positive, with some critical posts pushing back on James’s decision to align himself with a prediction market platform, drawing more engagement in some cases than James’s original post.

Polymarket, which describes itself as the world’s largest prediction market, allows users to trade contracts tied to the outcomes of real-world events, including elections, sports results and economic data releases. James’s deal adds him to a growing roster of prominent athletes who have entered the prediction market sector in recent months. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo became a shareholder in rival platform Kalshi earlier this year and agreed to participate in marketing efforts and live events for that company, though Kalshi has said his stake remains passive and that its rules prohibit him from trading on NBA-related markets. Golf star Bryson DeChambeau signed an ambassador deal with Kalshi in January, becoming the first major athlete to formally partner with a prediction market platform, and has since incorporated Kalshi’s markets into content on his YouTube channel. Soccer icon Lionel Messi and tennis star Maria Sharapova have also promoted Polymarket.

James’s arrangement marks a notable milestone within that broader trend, according to Yahoo Sports, which reported that he is both the first individual NBA player to sign a partnership with Polymarket specifically and the first individual athlete of any kind that Polymarket has signed to such an agreement. While the NBA itself is reportedly in separate talks with Polymarket regarding a potential league-level partnership, James’s deal represents a distinct, individually negotiated arrangement.

The NBA does not maintain a specific policy prohibiting players from endorsing prediction market platforms, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Front Office Sports, though players are barred from promoting specific contracts tied to NBA-related events. The NFL and PGA Tour, by contrast, reportedly do not permit their athletes to endorse prediction markets at all, a restriction that has not applied to James given his status as an NBA player.

James’s individual influence on prediction markets predates his formal Polymarket partnership. Earlier this year, when James became a free agent before ultimately signing with the Philadelphia 76ers, prediction market trading tied to his free agency decision exceeded $270 million in combined volume, according to Covers.com, with contracts specifically wagering on “LeBron’s next team” surpassing $225 million on Kalshi and $40 million on Polymarket, illustrating the significant public interest and trading activity his career decisions can generate even without a formal partnership in place.

Prediction markets have expanded rapidly across professional sports over the past several months, moving beyond individual athlete endorsements to formal league- and team-level partnerships. Major League Baseball announced a multiyear partnership with Polymarket in March, while the National Hockey League struck deals with both Kalshi and Polymarket last year. Polymarket has also secured league-level agreements with the NHL, MLS, Serie A and LaLiga, along with team-specific deals involving the New York Rangers and New York Yankees, and reached a last-minute partnership agreement with the U.S. Open shortly before James’s Saturday announcement. Kalshi, meanwhile, counts athletes including Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma and Breanna Stewart among its investors, alongside an official NHL partnership and team-level agreements with the Chicago Blackhawks and several Major League Baseball franchises, including exclusive arrangements with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres.

The rapid growth of prediction markets has not come without regulatory friction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a lower court’s decision dissolving a preliminary injunction that had blocked Nevada from preventing a prediction market operator from doing business in the state, underscoring ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding how individual states can regulate the rapidly expanding industry even as major sports leagues, teams and star athletes continue signing on with the platforms.

With James’s Polymarket campaign expected to launch in full early this week, further details on his specific role, compensation and the scope of the football-focused promotional effort are expected to be announced in the coming days, according to reporting on the partnership. The deal adds another high-profile name to an industry that has moved rapidly from a niche corner of online betting culture into a mainstream fixture of professional sports marketing over the course of the past year.

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — A wildlife park worker has died after being attacked by a crocodile during a feeding demonstration at Adventure Park in Port Moresby, prompting the facility to close indefinitely as staff mourn his death.

The man, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, was inside a fenced crocodile enclosure at the park on Saturday afternoon when he was attacked and dragged into the water. He was taken to 3 Mile General Hospital for treatment but died from his injuries early Sunday morning, at approximately 7 a.m. local time.

Eyewitness Gibson John told the ABC that the man was attacked while attempting to feed the crocodile as part of the park’s regular routine.

“He brought the chicken to the fence and the crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool,” John said.

According to John, onlookers were initially unable to intervene directly given the danger posed by the animal.

“We couldn’t assist at that time, but I managed to contact the St John’s Ambulance,” John said.

John said the crocodile kept the man’s legs in its jaws for more than an hour before emergency responders arrived at the scene.

“The security guards had no guns, but gave him a small iron rod to use until the police and St John’s Ambulance came,” John said.

Video circulated on social media appeared to show the worker clinging to the edge of the enclosure’s pool as bystanders attempted to help him, with the crocodile’s jaws visibly clamped around his legs. One bystander extended a pole through the enclosure fencing in an attempt to assist him, while another person could be seen supporting him from the edge of the pool as a crowd gathered around the scene.

John described the visible pain the man was experiencing during the extended ordeal, even as he was unable to vocalize it clearly.

“He was in severe pain but he couldn’t scream,” John said. “He couldn’t speak properly at that time. It was the pain I could see from his eyes. The only thing I could hear him say was, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’”

According to John, visitors were ushered out of the park during the incident, while police reportedly shot the crocodile before the man could be freed from its grip. John said he was later told that the man, who was originally from the Western Islands in northern Papua New Guinea, had lost a leg in the attack before being transported to the hospital.

“I’ve never seen something like this before. I couldn’t believe what I saw,” John said.

The Adventure Park in Port Moresby regularly holds crocodile feeding demonstrations for visitors, during which staff members interact closely with the reptiles housed at the facility. The handler involved in Saturday’s attack is understood to have worked at the park for approximately two years prior to the incident.

Following the man’s death, Adventure Park has been closed until further notice. Staff members who witnessed the attack were reported to be gathering at a funeral home Sunday as arrangements were made for the worker’s funeral.

Crocodile attacks involving wildlife park handlers and workers, while relatively rare given the controlled conditions typically maintained at such facilities, do occur periodically around the world, often during feeding demonstrations or routine enclosure maintenance when animals may perceive food, sudden movement or unfamiliar objects as triggers for predatory behavior. Saltwater crocodiles, the species commonly found in Papua New Guinea and across parts of northern Australia and Southeast Asia, are among the largest living reptiles and are capable of exerting an extremely powerful bite force, often subduing prey through a rolling motion sometimes referred to as a “death roll,” which can cause severe trauma and drowning even in cases where victims are eventually freed from the animal’s grip.

Papua New Guinea shares crocodile habitat and cultural traditions surrounding the animals with neighboring regions across the Asia-Pacific, where saltwater crocodiles hold both ecological and, in various local traditions, symbolic significance. Wildlife facilities across the broader region, including in Australia, have periodically faced scrutiny following incidents involving staff or visitors and the crocodiles housed at their enclosures, prompting recurring conversations about enclosure safety protocols and the risks inherent in close-contact animal demonstrations involving large predatory reptiles.

Papua New Guinea authorities had not, as of Sunday, announced whether Saturday’s incident would prompt any formal safety review or regulatory response affecting Adventure Park or other similar wildlife facilities operating within the country. The park’s operators have not issued a detailed public statement beyond confirming the closure, and it remains unclear when, or under what conditions, the facility might eventually reopen to the public.

The circumstances surrounding Saturday’s attack, including the apparent lack of firearms among on-site security personnel and the extended length of time before emergency responders and police arrived at the scene, may draw additional scrutiny in the coming days as officials and the park’s management review what happened and whether existing safety measures at the facility were adequate for the risks associated with its crocodile feeding demonstrations.

For now, Adventure Park remains closed as staff and the local community process the loss of a worker who colleagues and witnesses described as having dedicated roughly two years of his life to caring for and interacting with the animals housed at the facility, a role that on Saturday afternoon ended in tragedy during what had been intended as a routine feeding demonstration.

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple is set to unveil its new iPhone lineup at a Sept. 9 event, with technology analysts predicting the announcement will mark a pivotal turning point for the smartphone industry, driven by three major strategic shifts: a deepened AI partnership with Google, the company’s first foldable device, and a restructured product release schedule.

The event, titled “Surprise and Shine,” is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time at Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. It marks the first major product launch overseen by John Ternus, who officially became Apple’s chief executive on Sept. 1. Apple confirmed the event date on Aug. 26, with an invitation that included a playful nod to Siri, the company’s voice assistant, hinting at the artificial intelligence upgrades expected to feature prominently in the presentation.

Apple is expected to unveil three new iPhones at the event: the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the company’s first foldable device, widely expected to be branded the iPhone Ultra. All three models are expected to run on Apple’s new A20 Pro chip, the company’s first processor built on a 2-nanometer manufacturing process, which early leaks suggest could deliver performance gains of up to 18% and power efficiency improvements of up to 30% compared with the prior generation.

Forbes senior contributor Ewan Spence, who covers mobile technology, argued in an analysis published ahead of the event that the launch’s most consequential development may not be a new phone at all, but rather Apple’s expanding reliance on Google’s artificial intelligence technology.

“Apple’s integration of Google Gemini into iOS 26 concedes foundation-model dominance to its primary operating system competitor while protecting Apple’s private cloud computing perimeter,” Spence wrote.

That AI partnership has been building for months. Apple confirmed at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June that its redesigned Siri assistant, arriving as part of iOS 26 and its companion operating systems this fall, would run on technology built with Google’s Gemini models. According to Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian, who addressed the partnership at a Google Cloud conference earlier this year, the arrangement positions Google as Apple’s preferred cloud provider for developing the next generation of Apple’s foundation models. Apple has said the underlying processing will continue running through its Private Cloud Compute architecture, preserving the privacy protections the company has long marketed as a core differentiator, even as the underlying AI model technology originates from its primary software competitor.

Spence noted that this is not the first time Apple has leaned on Google’s technology rather than building an equivalent capability entirely in-house, drawing a comparison to Apple’s decades-long reliance on Google as the default search engine within Safari and other Apple products, an arrangement that has generated substantial payments from Google to Apple over the years.

Beyond the AI integration, Apple’s entry into the foldable smartphone category represents a significant moment for an industry segment Samsung has led since launching the original Galaxy Fold in 2019. Spence argued that Apple’s traditionally late but highly polished approach to new product categories could once again translate into outsized market impact, given the company’s large, loyal user base and the tendency of Apple customers to wait for the company’s own version of an emerging technology rather than switching ecosystems.

“The iPhone Ultra will be seen as a success, even if stock may be limited in the first few months,” Spence wrote, adding that Apple’s entry “will legitimize that foldable space for more consumers” and “lift the boat for all foldables” across the broader industry.

The foldable iPhone is expected to feature a book-style design, opening to roughly 7.6 inches while measuring about 5.5 inches when closed, a wider-than-tall form factor that would make the unfolded device function similarly to a small tablet. Samsung has reportedly redirected additional resources to ensure its own comparably sized Galaxy Z Fold 8 remains widely available globally as Apple’s device reaches the market, setting up a direct comparison between Apple’s debut foldable and Samsung’s seventh-generation entry in the category.

The third major shift Spence identified involves Apple’s restructured release calendar. Rather than launching its entire iPhone 18 lineup simultaneously, Apple is splitting the generation into two waves: the Pro-tier models arriving this month, with the more affordable iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Air not expected until late March or early April 2027, alongside a rumored budget iPhone 18e.

Spence argued that this split effectively pushes cost-conscious buyers who might otherwise wait for a cheaper option toward Apple’s pricier Pro-tier devices during the critical holiday shopping season, since no lower-cost iPhone 18 option will be available in the U.S. market this fall.

“Apple is arguably using the lack of an iPhone 18 to force an upsell to the iPhone 18 Pro,” Spence wrote.

That staggered release also gives Apple a second major consumer product moment in early 2027, timed closely with the industry’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, a period that has traditionally offered a showcase opportunity for competing Android manufacturers. Spence suggested the timing could dilute media attention that would otherwise go to Apple’s rivals during that window.

“More iPhones, more of the time, and less oxygen for competitors to generate press coverage is a win for Apple and puts pressure on the competition,” Spence wrote.

Pricing for the new lineup remains unconfirmed ahead of the event, though some industry estimates have suggested the standard Pro models could see price increases of up to $300 compared with their predecessors, partly attributed to ongoing global memory chip shortages affecting component costs across the smartphone industry. Separate analyst projections for the foldable iPhone Ultra have ranged from roughly $2,100 to more than $3,000 depending on storage configuration.

With Apple’s presentation just days away, the company’s decisions on AI partnership structure, foldable device design, and product release timing are expected to shape competitive dynamics across the broader smartphone industry well into 2027, according to analysts tracking the event. As Spence put it in his analysis, the significance of Wednesday’s presentation extends well beyond the specific devices being announced.

“The iPhone event is about more than the iPhone,” Spence wrote. “It’s about deciding who gets to define the future of smartphones.”

CUPERTINO, Calif. — John Ternus officially took over as Apple’s chief executive on Sept. 1, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure atop the world’s most valuable technology company, and now faces an immediate test of his leadership just days into the job as Apple prepares to unveil its latest iPhone lineup, including the company’s first foldable device.

Ternus, 50, joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and spent the past 25 years working almost exclusively in hardware engineering, rising to vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 before being promoted to senior vice president in 2021, the role from which he now moves into the CEO position. He was formally named to Apple’s board of directors effective Sept. 1, the same day the leadership transition took effect.

Cook, who succeeded Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011, will remain with the company as executive chairman following the transition. Under his leadership, Apple’s market value grew from roughly $350 billion to as much as $4.6 trillion, driven largely by the enduring commercial success of the iPhone. Apple’s board announced the succession plan in April, with non-executive chairman Arthur Levinson praising Cook’s tenure while expressing confidence in his successor.

“Tim’s unprecedented and outstanding leadership has transformed Apple into the world’s best company,” Levinson said at the time. “We believe John is the best possible leader to succeed Tim and as he transitions to CEO we know his love of Apple, his leadership, deep technical knowledge, and relentless focus on creating great products will help lead Apple to an extraordinary future.”

Ternus inherits the company at what analysts describe as a genuinely pivotal moment, one shaped by mounting competitive pressure in artificial intelligence, ongoing questions about Apple’s manufacturing dependence on China, and a services division that, while still generating substantial revenue, recently missed Wall Street’s expectations.

Babak Hafezi, a professor of international business at American University, told Al Jazeera that Ternus’s background signals a deliberate strategic emphasis heading into the new era.

“The appointment of Ternus is Apple’s subtle way of doubling down on hardware innovation as a core strategy,” Hafezi said. “It doesn’t refute the Tim Cook era; it marks a new stage in Apple’s history by intertwining AI with hardware, rather than treating AI as a standalone product.”

Ternus faces his first major public test just over a week into the job, when Apple unveils its newest iPhone lineup on Sept. 9, an event expected to include the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and Apple’s first foldable device. Unlike in past years, when Cook typically led such presentations, Ternus is expected to take the stage himself to introduce Apple’s newest hardware, marking his public debut in the role in front of both the media and Apple’s global customer base.

Some industry watchers have drawn parallels between the pressure now facing Ternus and the skepticism Cook himself encountered when he first took over from Jobs in 2011, a moment when many analysts publicly questioned whether Apple could sustain its success without its co-founder at the helm. Tim Bajarin, a longtime technology analyst, framed the central question now facing Ternus in similarly high-stakes terms.

“The next question really is, what’s Ternus gonna do?” Bajarin said. “The fact that he is a product guy and has product ideas makes us hopeful that we may see even new breakthrough products.”

Jane Edison Stevenson, global vice chair of executive search firm Korn Ferry, said Apple’s decision to keep Cook closely involved as executive chairman reflects a deliberate effort to reassure investors and employees during the transition, though she cautioned that approach carries its own risks.

“They are looking to signal there’s continuity, that there’s a continued strategic continuum that’s being followed, and that there’s a bit of a failsafe,” Stevenson said. She added that an extended or loosely defined transition period “can make it more challenging for the new leader to take hold with the freedom to make independent decisions.”

Among the specific challenges Ternus inherits is Apple’s services business, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud and Apple Pay and has become an increasingly important growth driver under Cook. The unit generated $30.7 billion in revenue during its most recent quarter, up 12% year over year and a record for that period, but still came in below the $31.22 billion analysts had projected. Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue has previously acknowledged, in testimony during one of Google’s antitrust trials, that AI could eventually reshape consumer reliance on hardware like the iPhone altogether.

“You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now, as crazy as it sounds,” Cue said at the time, underscoring the scale of disruption Apple’s leadership believes artificial intelligence could bring to the company’s core business over the coming decade.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the transition, some market analysts have pushed back against the idea that a change in CEO alone should trigger significant investor caution. CNBC’s Jim Cramer, discussing the leadership change during an August investor meeting, expressed continued confidence in Apple’s underlying business even while acknowledging his own personal attachment to Cook’s leadership.

“I think that’s wrong,” Cramer said, addressing speculation that Apple’s stock could face downgrades or a selloff tied to the transition. “Apple’s fundamentals are incredible, so we say stay the course.” Cramer added that his “fondness for Tim Cook is so great that it will be difficult for me to be as confident with a new CEO,” while stressing that he was not prejudging Ternus’s performance before giving him a chance to lead.

Cook is also expected to continue playing a behind-the-scenes role in maintaining Apple’s relationship with the Trump administration even after stepping back from day-to-day CEO responsibilities, a task some analysts view as an additional layer of institutional continuity supporting Ternus during his early tenure.

Whether Ternus can successfully build on Cook’s legacy while charting Apple’s own path through the current artificial intelligence race remains an open question that will likely take months or years, rather than a single product launch, to answer definitively. For now, the Sept. 9 event stands as Ternus’s first major public opportunity to demonstrate the kind of product-driven leadership his supporters within Apple and across the analyst community have said could define his tenure, even as broader structural questions about Apple’s AI strategy, manufacturing footprint and services growth continue to loom over the company’s next chapter.