Maximalism

"China will lead the creation of an "open-source zone for artificial intelligence" for the BRICS countries, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday at a summit of the 11-nation group held in New Delhi. Xi also called for the establishment of a "broad and consensus-based global AI governance framework.""

In Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), new advisors are joining to support companies that adopt employee ownership. The sector shows a "strong appetite" for this model, which allows workers to participate in the ownership of their companies

In Rieti, Italy, a proposal arises for the employees of the Birra del Borgo brewery to organize as a workers' cooperative to take over the company and prevent its disappearance, betting on a model of ownership and management in the hands of the workers

The town of Calascio, in Italy, is driving its revival through a workers' cooperative that transforms tourism activity into local employment, creating job opportunities for its residents

Happy New Year to everyone!

Two Cardigan companies become employee-owned. The companies 3P Technik UK and Celtic Sustainables, based in Cardigan, Wales, United Kingdom, are transformed into an employee-owned business group (EOT), transferring ownership to the workforce and ensuring business continuity under a participatory governance model

Scop Couserans Construction and Ecozimut, in Occitanie, France, jointly develop prefabricated partitions made of wood and lightweight earth for sustainable construction. Cooperation among worker cooperatives drives innovation in natural materials

"If data kills the narrative, then those who have fared best under this Government are the Spanish rich. This is indicated by the sharp increase in the number of rich people in Spain, compared with the stagnation in the average real income per person and in the Arope rate of risk of poverty/social exclusion, the emergence of the working poor and the high rate of child poverty. All this leaves no room for doubt: Sánchez's Government has been the Government of the rich.

And all this is compatible with economic growth, job creation, the increase in the minimum wage and the scant effort in productivity and innovation, to the point that our competitiveness model has been based more on low costs than on increased added value, and growth has owed much to external factors, such as tourism and the Next Generation funds, to public spending in the form of pension increases and to immigrants and the new precariousness of the labour market, where there is still a significant gap in skilled labour."

"The data therefore support a narrative such as the following: under the "progressive" Government, the number of rich people in Spain grows, real wages do not increase, inequality rises and poverty becomes chronic for around 13 million citizens, leading the European ranking for child poverty."

The former Fralib workers of Gémenos relaunch a support campaign despite rising turnover. The former workers of the Fralib factory in Gémenos, France, organized in a self-managed cooperative, are relaunching a support campaign even though their turnover has increased

Between 2018 and 2026, Gross Value Added per employee increased by 44% in nominal terms. However, average remuneration per worker grew by 33%, while the gross margin per employee obtained by companies increased by 55%.

In Washington D.C. (United States), a report presents worker cooperatives as a dignified response to the crisis in care for elderly people with dementia. Owned by the employees, these models seek to improve the quality of care and the workers' conditions, offering an alternative to the current system

In Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA), a young woman shares in MinnPost how her future changed when she joined an employee-owned company. Faced with job uncertainty, the shared ownership model gave her stability, confidence, and a concrete path to build her life

The opportunity too many Americans have never heard of. The Daily Montanan article, from Helena, Montana (USA), highlights ESOP plans as a little-known pathway for workers to acquire their companies and secure their future. Despite being a relevant employment and economic opportunity, the model remains ignored by most citizens of the country

Nueva Cotar: The plant reopened in Rosario, Argentina, under worker management, forming a cooperative project to sustain production and employment

Recruitment: for Ethiquable, "they come because we are a Scop". In Toulouse (France), the fair trade cooperative Ethiquable explains that its status as a Scop —worker cooperative for production— is a magnet for candidates. According to ToulEmploi, the cooperative and participatory model attracts those seeking employment, reinforcing the link between cooperative identity and its recruitment

The employees of a bakery in Quimper are fighting to buy the business. In Quimper, France, the Philippe bakery has been for sale for four years. Its employees have decided to form a worker cooperative (Scop) to take it over, although they still lack the necessary funds to complete the operation

In the United Kingdom, a bed retail company has completed its transition to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), transferring ownership to its workers. The move aims to ensure business continuity and preserve employment through a participatory and collective governance model

The company, headquartered in London (United Kingdom), has raised the pay of its entire staff by 25%, according to The Law Society Gazette. The increase, resulting from the shared ownership model, reflects the distribution of profits among the workers

"The solution is to be the Lernaean Hydra, so that from each cut head two new ones emerge (if they are more, better). The goal is the distributed network, where the fewest possible nodes fall when there is an attack like the one we have seen.

Perhaps seen this way, the closure of A/I is an opportunity to create something new, a network where we are sovereigns of our spaces, where they do not silence us and, above all, as A/I always reminds us, we continue to be human."

In Brittany (France), bakers nearing retirement seek for their workers to take over the business to avoid closure and unemployment. The initiative reflects the need for a process of transferring the company to workers for the entire rural community environment

The LELL grocery store, located in Villeurbanne (Lyon, France), celebrates its tenth anniversary as a Scop, a worker cooperative, betting on a collaboration network to ensure its continuity and sustainability

In Paris, France, the local press highlights the activity and employment cooperative (CAE), which allows young self-employed workers to receive support and the protection of a permanent employment contract (CDI), feeling supported in their dual role as entrepreneurs and employees

The French painting company of Golbey resumes its activity under the Scop model (associated worker cooperative), managed by its workers, thus preserving employment and local activity

In France, faced with the closure of their company, workers unite and create cooperatives to resume activity. Some of them will share their experience at the event «Refaire (ensemble)»

This initiative, promoted by legislators Zwicker and Turner, encourages the purchase of companies by workers through ESOPs and cooperatives, with the aim of preserving jobs and facilitating business succession

An opinion article published in Cincinnati, USA, argues that employees should share in the profits they generate. The column advocates for worker ownership mechanisms, such as ESOPs, to rebuild the American dream and reduce inequality, giving workers a real stake in companies.